


it's where you belong, i wouldn't have it any other way

by antinyettetopaz



Series: it fits my love, it fits three whole lives [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: A bit sad, Almost smut, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, but it gets better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:55:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antinyettetopaz/pseuds/antinyettetopaz
Summary: Cheryl was taken completely off guard with that question and she wouldn’t have, in a million years, expected that to come out of Raven’s mouth like that. She didn’t know what to say. A five-year-old had left her speechless. She looked over at Toni, but the smaller girl seemed just as surprised as she was.“Always,” Cheryl answered genuinely. “And, no matter what happens, you’re still my Raven Haven, right?”“Of course! And Toni is our Toni Macaroni. Right, Toni?”Our.Toni sighed. This kid, I swear to God. How does she do that?“Always, Rav.”Part 02 to small to three, big to six (aka the milkshake fic), so if you haven't read that one, I recommend you to read it before you start this one! :)
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Series: it fits my love, it fits three whole lives [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998307
Comments: 19
Kudos: 88





	1. you’re never alone, you can always come back home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chonisational](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chonisational/gifts).



> Guess who's back!
> 
> Well, for starters, I wasn't planning on doing a sequel (and if I'm being completely honest I wasn't thinking about finishing the first part either and even less so to make it 16 chapters since it was previously supposed to be 4 hahah) but I have the best person on my corner to brainstorm with me at 3 AM. The entire plot to this came from a single "can you imagine if..." during one of our non-sense, late night conversations and there we have it!
> 
> I'm sure you're all tired of reading this because I always put it on my notes, but I truly do have my best friend, Andy, to thank for this one, so if you're not her feel free to skip this part if you want to HAHAHA. She's so attached to this story and its characters it's adorable, but at the same time it makes my heart warm to see someone enjoying, so genuinely, something that I wrote. Cherries are now our thing and I don't think neither of us will ever let it fade hahaha so, Andy, I know you're reading this because you always do, so thank you so much for being my #1 fan and for always being so patient with me in all situations. You know that I literally could NOT have done this one without you and I'm so glad to have you in my life and lucky to be able to call you my best friend. Thank you for all the help and for correcting my typos because I'm a dumbass who can't write hehe I love you to the moon and back!♥
> 
> Well, without further ado, let's get our babies back because I know you're all dying for it HAHAH sooo enjoy! :)

Toni couldn’t get Raven to stop crying. 

She didn’t understand why they couldn’t stop at Cheryl for cookies and Cheryl’s magical strawberry milkshake because she knew that when the clock hit the usual small to three and big to six was when she was supposed to see Cheryl after school, and there wasn't much Toni could do about it other than comfort her sister the best she could.

Toni was exhausted. She had had the hardest day at work and all she wanted to do was get home and rest. Put her feet up a little and just forget she had to wake up at six in the morning the next day to go to work because she hated her new job. Toni was exhausted and she didn’t blame Raven for taking that harder than Toni thought she would. 

Sometimes, Toni thought Raven and Cheryl were born attached to the hip. Their connection was truly out of that world and she hated that Raven was now in a situation that she felt she lost the redhead. It didn’t hurt any less for Toni. The silent cries before bed was a reminder to her that Cheryl was no longer hers and, consequently, Raven lost her, too. 

The breakup wasn’t easy on either of them.

The memory burned in her mind. Toni could still hear Cheryl crying as they both looked down at their own laps, cold fingers playing with each other because they wouldn’t dare look at each other’s eyes. Not that her own crying was that silent.

Things weren’t easy lately, and it was draining for both of them. Trying to keep a relationship where both of them had to give more than they could just for the comfort of not losing another person in their lives wasn’t doing it anymore. There was a lot of love there. So much that Toni felt her heart ripping apart whenever she thought about leaving the redhead, but it was doing more harm than good. Some days, it was hard to talk to each other without snapping. They didn't mean to, but some days it got the best out of them and Toni hated that at the end of the day the apologies and the I love you’s still weren't enough.

Toni quit, because she couldn’t keep seeing Cheryl’s face every day and not burst into tears every time she saw how dark the circles under Cheryl’s eyes were. Every other day she would come to work with puffy eyes, and Cheryl’s would immediately recognize Toni’s eyes, just as red and swollen, but they didn’t talk about it. They would fake smile their way into the room and do what they were paid to do. So, eventually, Toni couldn’t take it anymore and she had to leave. 

It had been a couple of months and Raven still wasn’t completely used to the idea of being just the two of them. Every Friday night, their pizza night, she would wait an hour because Cheryl was coming home for them to have dinner on the counter (and not on the couch), but eventually the hunger would take over and the sadness that came along with the realization that she wouldn’t come hit Raven.

“Rav, you have to eat.” Toni begged one more time, still sitting down at the counter. “Come on, I bought your favorite.” 

Raven gently shook her head, eyes still glued on the TV. “The intercom didn’t ring. We have to wait for Cheryl, remember?”

Toni sighed deeply, the sting back in her chest as she heard her name. “Rav, come here, please?”

Finally, Raven looked back at her sister and jumped right off the couch, walking towards her sister. 

“Cheryl is not coming today, remember?”

“But why?” 

“Because…” Toni started, but she couldn’t find the right words. “She can’t make it today. Maybe next week.” 

“Cheryl’s not coming?” Raven asked one more time, pain clear in Toni’s watery eyes as she saw Raven’s with a barrier of unshed tears as well.

“Not today, boo.” Toni tried her best to disguise the quivery in her voice, but it came out as a whisper. “Will you make me company? Please? I promise we can watch all the Disney movies you want after we eat.”

“Okay,” she smiled sadly and tried to hop on the high stool by herself, forgetting about Cheryl’s absence for a second. Toni wished she didn’t sigh in relief. 

Eventually things got better for the little girl, but Toni would still feel the effects of not having Cheryl anymore. Toni wouldn’t let Raven see her crying, and even though she would never make eye contact with Toni, the pink-haired girl knew she wouldn’t hold back her own tears if she noticed it.

Four months after the breakup, Raven didn’t throw a tantrum when they passed Cheryl’s house on their way to school anymore. She didn’t forget about her, Toni knew that, because every damn time she would ask if Cheryl was home because she could see the lights, but the pink-haired girl would only say she didn’t know and no more questions were asked. It was getting easier and Toni somehow didn’t want it to, because she didn’t want Cheryl to be gone from her life. Not yet. 

Toni didn’t hear her phone ringing in her purse, and even if she did, she wasn’t sure if she could stop mid-shoot and pick it up. 

Her heart dropped when she recognized the number, and fifteen minutes after the call was missed, Toni was ringing back to Raven’s school. As they informed her that she had fallen in the playground and hurt her arm, Toni was already making her way there, but she was confused as to why the lady would tell her not to worry because things were handled.

When she got there, she made her way to the school infirmary to find Raven sitting down on the hospital bed as two nurses managed to put a cast on her sister’s arm.

Toni felt the ground beneath her disappear when she spotted the red locks she knew so well in the midst of all those people, holding Raven’s free hand. 

“It’s going to be okay, I promise.” Toni heard Cheryl saying to Raven as the little girl cried her eyes out. For a second Toni forgot how to breathe or how to take steps like a functional human being, really. 

“Cheryl?,” was the only word she could manage to say out loud. 

Cheryl turned around on her heels when she heard her name being called, and for a fraction of second Toni swore she saw a smile there. 

“I’m still her emergency contact,” Cheryl said with a shrug, trying to explain why she was there in the first place because she knew Toni would be intrigued. Her hand never left Raven’s, the little girl’s knuckles turning white from holding her hand too tight. 

_ Emergency contact. Of course. _

Toni just nodded in response and turned her attention back to her sister, who seemed to feel more pain as Toni got closer.

“Hey, what happened?” Toni asked as she found a way for her to get closer to her, standing  _ way  _ too close to Cheryl. 

“I fell from the slide and my arm was hurting so much.” 

“We took her to the hospital and the x-ray showed a fracture.” The school’s nurse spoke, taking Toni's attention from everything around her. “Nothing to worry about, it was a really small one, hairline, but she will need a cast for a couple of months.” 

Toni nodded in response and turned back to Raven. “You’re going to be okay. It’s just a bruise and it will heal before you can even notice it.” 

“Can I take her home earlier?” Toni asked the nurse, who nodded in response once again. 

Toni didn’t want to meet Cheryl again like that. She wasn’t emotionally or psychologically or anything ready to see her out of the blue, but somehow she couldn’t keep her eyes off her. Her eyes darted from her sister to Cheryl and the expression of concern she had on. Toni wanted to be there for her sister and hold her hand to comfort her, but the tears were already starting to fade and she looked fine resting her head against Cheryl’s hip and Toni had no idea how much she missed seeing them together until now. 

A few minutes later, Raven had a white cast on her arm and Toni had a prescription for painkillers in case she was in a lot of pain. As the nurses left, Toni saw Cheryl’s hand playing with Raven’s hair as they both stood there and stared at the new accessory on the little girl’s arm. 

“Thank you,” Toni said, completely out of nowhere. It took Cheryl a couple of seconds to realize she was talking to her. “For being there for her. She misses you a lot and I’m really thankful that you could be here.”

“Sure,” she responded with a whisper and a light nod. “No need to thank me.”

“I do. You didn’t  _ have _ to come, you know?”

“Toni,” Cheryl said tenderly and the pink-haired girl swore that she wouldn’t be able to keep it together if she did it again. “What happened between us doesn’t erase what we had or how I feel about you two. I still love her with all my heart and it’s not different with you, you know that. I know deep down you know that.” 

Toni stared at her face for a while, their eyes meeting for a split second was enough to make Toni want to cry. Again. It had been a while since she last looked at them and  _ God,  _ how she missed them. They looked sad, somehow, but Toni could still see the perky Cheryl she loved. 

_ She loves.  _

“She misses you a lot,” Toni said in response as she pointed with her head to Raven, scared that she would ruin things or make them weird if she said what she really wanted to say.

“I miss her a lot, too.” She answered, taking a quick look down at the kid attached to her hip. “Both of you.” 

“I miss you, too. Like someone cut a hole in me.” Toni whispered the last part hoping Cheryl wouldn’t get it, but she knew Cheryl would. She always did. 

The sad smile on the redhead’s face was hard to witness and if Toni could she would go back in time and undo everything that led to that moment. 

“What did we do?” Cheryl asked after what seemed like hours of silence. “What did we even fight about?”

Toni shrugged and looked down. “Life, I guess. It took the best of me and I was too much to handle.”

“Toni, you were never too much to handle.” Cheryl’s free hand reached for Toni’s arm. “You  _ are not _ too much to handle. I also have a part in this.” 

They kept staring at each other, taking in the bits of conversation as flashbacks of what led to that moment came. 

Toni watched as Cheryl took a deep breath before she gathered the courage to say, “Maybe it’s not too late for us. I’m still here if you want me to be. Or I can just leave, that’s fine too.”

Raven looked up at Cheryl now, Toni noticed. She didn’t let go of her hand for a single second, not even to touch the cast on her other arm.

“You’re leaving? Again?” She asked, not making eye contact with Cheryl. “Can’t you stay? Five more minutes?”

Cheryl sighed at the request. It was hard enough having both of them together again under those circumstances and seeing those pleading eyes wasn't helping. 

“Why don’t you ask your sister if you can come over for cookies and milkshake?” Cheryl looked down at her, smiling in a way that she knew wouldn’t shed the tears in her eyes. 

“Toni, please?” Raven begged with shiny eyes, excitement written all over her face. “Please, can we go?” 

“Are you sure?” Toni asked Cheryl and watched her nod. “I guess you can go, then.”

“We, Toni. You, Cheryl and me. We always stay together, remember?” 

“Uh, I don’t know, Rav.” Toni hesitated, looking at Cheryl for a second. She thought she had seen pleading in Cheryl’s eyes, too, but she was afraid it was just wishful thinking. “Maybe this time you and Cheryl could spend some time together? Just the two of you?”

“Toni, please.” Cheryl pleaded. Toni didn’t want to say no. “Please. We don’t have to talk about anything if you don't want to, but  _ please _ .” 

Toni bit her bottom lip, nervousness taking over her. She missed Cheryl like crazy and she didn’t want to get her hopes up and end up hurting even more at the end. 

For Raven, then. 

Deep down, for  _ them _ , too. 

“Okay,” she nodded in response, and smiled involuntarily when she saw Cheryl’s face lit up and that smile she missed so much appear again. 

Raven hopped off the bed and balanced herself on her feet, her left arm too heavy and weird for her to balance out. Toni took her backpack from the chair and threw the strap over her shoulder as all three of them walked out of the infirmary’s door. 

“Why were you here first, Cheryl?” Raven asked out of nowhere, right after they passed through the gate. “They told me they were going to call my sister.” 

“It’s because Toni set me as your emergency contact. Do you know what that is?” Cheryl asked and watched Raven shake her head no as she looked down to the ground. “Well, in case they can’t get to your sister in a situation like this, they need to have someone else to call.”

“Someone that we trust. A friend or a family member.” Toni added to the explanation. “So, I put Cheryl when you first started school.”

“Cheryl is my emergency contact then?” Raven asked and both of them hummed in response. 

“I’m your emergency contact, yes.” Cheryl said. 

“But you’re not just my emergency contact, right? You’re still my Cheryl cherry, right? Even if I don’t see you every day anymore?” 

Cheryl was taken completely off guard with that question and she wouldn’t have, in a million years, expected that to come out of Raven’s mouth like that. She didn’t know what to say. A five-year-old had left her speechless. She looked over at Toni, but the smaller girl seemed just as surprised as she was. 

“Always,” she answered genuinely. “And, no matter what happens, you’re still my Raven Haven, right?” 

“Of course! And Toni is our Toni Macaroni. Right, Toni?”

_ Our.  _

Toni sighed.  _ This kid, I swear to God. How does she do that?  _

“Always, Rav.” 

“Our?” Cheryl turned her head to Toni this time, repeating the same word that had stuck to her head. 

Neither of them wanted to read too much into a sentence that came out of a 5-year-old, but it was inevitable. Toni still felt like Cheryl was theirs, regardless of the situation, and Cheryl couldn't erase the thought of losing them any more. 

They were each other’s family, all three of them felt it.  _ Physically felt it.  _ The fact that Raven missed Cheryl more than their biological aunt was telling that there was no way Cheryl wasn’t family. 

Toni just shrugged with a smile. 

_ Maybe it's not too late for us.  _

Cheryl’s words echoed in Toni’s head and she hoped Cheryl meant it because she wasn't going to lose her again. Or at least try not to.

The walk back to Cheryl’s place was mostly silent from Toni’s end. While she talked to her boss on the phone, she could hear Raven talking excitedly about the turtles she had learned at school before the accident in the playground. As usual, Cheryl would listen to every word carefully, asking her questions about it as the redhead led the way to her place, holding Raven’s hand before they crossed the streets. 

When Cheryl turned the key inside the door lock, it was like Toni and Raven never really left. Not  _ left,  _ because she was the one who wasn’t in their lives in the first place, but it was like they were still there all that time. Raven still took off her jacket (with a certain difficulty this time because her arm did have a cast on it) and handed it to Cheryl to hang it on the hanger behind the door because she was too small to reach it, going straight to her favorite spot on the couch.

“Rav, did you ask Cheryl if it’s okay?” Toni scolded when she noticed her sister’s hand reaching for the remote control. 

“Toni, it’s okay.” Cheryl said softly to Toni before she gave the little girl a thumbs up. “Please, don’t act like you’re both strangers.”

Toni knew she didn’t mean to be rude, and she truly wasn’t. Her soft tone was almost pitiful and it seemed like Cheryl would cry if she had to ask for things not to be weird again. Cheryl sat down at the counter, looking at Toni who was resting her body against it.

Only the noise of purses and backpacks being put down, jackets, steps and the random cartoon Raven was watching were audible, none of them knowing exactly what to say or  _ how  _ to start a conversation. 

“Aren’t you going to sit down?” Cheryl asked, looking Toni straight in the eyes with a sketch of a smile on her lips. “You’re not going to grow any more inches.” 

“You’re not that taller than me,” Toni rolled her eyes and bit down on a smile, pulling a stool out to sit on. 

“But I reach the top shelf, don’t I?” 

Toni raised an eyebrow before she said, “It doesn’t count if you’re on your tip toes.” 

They shy-laughed for a second and then silence settled once again. Cheryl had to bite her tongue in order not to say that Toni’s favorite cereal still was on the bottom shelf because Cheryl couldn’t seem to let go of the habit of putting it there, just in case.

Raven didn’t seem to be paying much attention to whatever was happening that wasn’t on Cheryl’s screen, which made it easier somehow for them to talk about  _ it.  _

“Not much has changed, I see,” Toni started, not sure where that exact sentence would lead, but the silence was killing her. 

“Not much to change,” Cheryl shrugged. “At least not in the house.” 

Not the answer Toni was hoping for. Toni didn’t want to look at Cheryl, not yet, even though she could feel her staring at her. She knew she would meet those brown eyes that got slightly lighter when she cried looking at her, but she couldn’t keep it away.

“Raven felt it hard,” was all Toni said after what seemed like hours of silence. “I was okay with managing the pain of missing you, but she would ask for you constantly.”

Toni watched Cheryl’s eyes looking away at Raven’s direction. Her lip didn’t quiver, but Toni could see her eyes getting watery, which made her instantly regret even mentioning it. There wasn’t much to talk about, but none of them knew how to actually make the conversation get where they needed it to. 

“You could’ve told me. If you wanted to drop her off for the day or something like that. I wouldn’t mind.”

“I did. It was hard enough as it was, and I think if I saw you it would be harder to, you know…”

Cheryl hesitated for a second. She didn’t want to believe that it was a possibility, or that it was true. “Get over me?” 

Toni shook her head no. “Just make it hurt less.” 

Cheryl studied her face for a second and noticed Toni was just as hurt as she was. All that time she thought Toni had already moved on or probably didn’t care as much anymore, and it made her oddly hopeful to see that it wasn’t the case. That there truly was a chance for them again. 

With no hesitation, Cheryl reached for Toni’s hair, the pink lock that was always falling on her eyes, and put it behind her ear. Toni’s eyes immediately looked up at hers, never dodging from Cheryl’s touch. 

“Toni, I don’t want to lose you again.” Cheryl started, her voice coming out as a whisper. “You and that little girl are a piece of me and I don’t want to watch you walking out of that door knowing that you won’t come back.”

“I will come back if you want me to,” Toni had on a shy smile and butterflies in her stomach as if it was their first time all over again. “I really don’t want to come back home knowing you won’t come over for pizza on Fridays.” 

“I will go if you want me to,” Cheryl repeated, a much more confident smile than the one Toni had. “I love you. I haven’t stopped loving you for a second. And I know things probably won’t go back to the way it used to be, but it doesn’t hurt to try. I’m willing to if you are.”

Toni sighed deeply, a breath she didn’t know she was holding in until she felt her chest burn. If Cheryl got any closer she would easily be able to hear Toni’s heart beating fast against her sternum, and, of course, the smile that kept on growing on her face that she couldn’t erase.

Toni saw Raven hopping off the couch and running towards them as she held her casted arm out, and from what Toni could see, she was in pain.

“Toni,” she cried out, holding her arm out and resting it on Toni’s thigh. “Take it off. It hurts.”

“Boo, we can’t take it off. It will help your arm get better.” Toni tried to explain, but Raven seemed to get more irritated by the second. 

“Take it off!”

“Does it hurt too much?” Toni asked, not sure what to do since there wasn’t much she could do. She couldn’t rub her arm to make the pain go away and she obviously couldn’t do what she was asking her to. 

Raven nodded in response, the tears starting to roll down her cheeks. 

“I’m going to give you something for the pain, then, okay?” Toni said, looking for the prescription in her backpack. 

“I think they mentioned Tylenol for the pain when they were casting her arm,” Cheryl said as she stood up and went to the medicine cabinet, looking through the boxes. “I still have some from that time she had a fever.” 

“It’s yucky!” Raven complained, taking her other hand to her mouth, stompy feet hitting the floor as she protested against it.

“It’s not! It tastes like cherry, remember?” Cheryl asked, showing her the bottle before she started pouring it into a measurement cup. “Look, it’s pink!” 

Cheryl got closer to Toni and Raven, the girl still with her hand on her mouth while Toni tried to calm her down. 

“You can drink a bit of water to get rid of the taste if you want, but you have to take it all, okay?” Toni said. 

They didn’t want to push her so they waited until she took her hand out of her mouth. Cheryl gave it for Raven to hold and take the medicine herself. 

“You take it and I will get the water,” she said before she turned around and got half of a glass of water and grabbed a cookie from the jar. “Ready? 1, 2…”

After Raven emptied the cup and made faces when the bitter taste hit her tongue, Cheryl quickly handed her the glass of water. Toni watched the scene in silence, mostly because it still amazed her how careful Cheryl was with her sister. She didn’t have to do any of this. She could easily leave Toni to handle her crying sister by herself, but Cheryl made sure to be the first one to help and try to make Raven feel better. Even after everything, Cheryl made sure she cared about them and that no matter what happened she would always have their backs.

“Was it that bad?” Cheryl asked and chuckled when she saw Raven nodding. “You can have this cookie, then. It will help with the bad taste.” 

“What do we say to Cheryl?” Toni said, holding Raven against her body as the girl snuggled up against her side. 

“Thank you.”

“I got you, boo.” Cheryl smiled as she looked at them.  _ Don’t you dare let them go again.  _

An idea creeped up in her head, so Cheryl stood up one more time and walked towards her bedroom, to that bottom drawer where she kept the sharpies Raven used to play with whenever she was over at her place.

“You know, Rav,” the redhead started as she walked back into the living room. “I hurt my arm once too and I had to get a cast, just like yours.” 

“You did?”

Cheryl nodded. “Yeah. And do you know what I did when it hurt so bad? I drew on it!”

“With colored pencils?”

“Yeah! Just like these,” Cheryl placed the pack on the counter. Toni helped Raven get up on it and sit on her lap so she could rest her arm on the surface. “Do you want to try?”

Raven shook her head no and just stared at the sharpies, and then back to Cheryl.

“Are you sure?”

She hesitated for a second and then nodded, reaching for the purple one and giving it Toni. Then, grabbed the red one and handed to Cheryl, only to reach for the pink lastly.

“You,” Raven said as she looked at Cheryl, holding the pink sharpie in hands still with the cap on. 

“Me first? Okay. What do you want me to draw?”

The small hiccup from the crying that left Raven’s mouth made Cheryl’s heart melt, but she was glad that she was distracted enough from the pain. 

“Cherries!” She responded in excitement. Raven turned her arm around, her wrist up now. “You drew cherries here when I went to school.”

“That’s true, I did.” Cheryl answered, smiling at her. She took the cap off and started drawing on it, the texture making it harder for the lines to be perfect, but not that Raven would mind anyway. 

Cheryl could see Raven smiling as she leaned down to get a better look at what Cheryl was doing, Toni holding her back so she wouldn’t fall off her lap. The redhead added a couple of green leaves on top of it and she was done. 

“All done! See?” Cheryl pointed to the drawing, Raven lifting her arm up to see. “Now it’s your turn. What are you going to draw?”

“A turtle!” She answered without hesitation. 

“A pink turtle?” Toni asked. “What color is the turtle that you saw at school today?”

Raven stopped to think for a second, staring at the same blank spot on the counter. “I don’t remember.”

“What about… A blue turtle? Like the ocean!” 

“Okay,” she answered and reached for the blue sharpie in the box. 

Raven was too focused on her drawing, really paying attention to details, which impressed Toni. The three of them just sat there, Toni and Cheryl watching Raven draw as silence settled between them. Out of nowhere, it wasn’t awkward anymore. Toni didn’t feel the need to fill that weird void and Cheryl was okay just being in their presence and enjoying the moment. It was almost like she had never left.

“I’m more than willing to,” Toni whispered in response, her eyes slowly looking up at Cheryl. She watched Cheryl’s attention being taken away from the girl to look at the pink-haired girl in front of her.

“Huh?”

“To go back to us. I’m in if you are.” Toni answered. Even though she knew the answer, her heart was still racing at the thought of it being anything else than a yes. “I’m not ready to watch you leave again.” 

“You’re not going to.” Cheryl answered and Toni thought she had seen that glow in her eyes, the same she got whenever she felt genuinely happy, and that half smile that could make Toni go distances.

* * *

They decided to take things slowly. It was probably going to fail at some point, but there they were, a proper first date at Pop’s because, honestly, there wouldn’t be any other place they would rather go than where they met.

Veronica wasn’t that impressed when she saw both of them walking into the place later that evening, but it sure made her happy to see them together again.

“If it’s not my favorite power—” 

“Veronica.” Cheryl scolded between teeth, eyes widening as she did. “What did I tell you?!” 

“Not to say ‘my favorite power couple’, but I don’t care, you are.” She shrugged as she watched Cheryl rolling her eyes back and Toni clearly blushing and looking down, seconds before they got seated at the counter. “The usual?”

“If you mean a strawberry milkshake with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles for Cher and a chocolate one with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles for me, then yes, I believe?” Toni said it all in one breath, looking at Cheryl at the end just to make sure she got it right. The redhead smiled and nodded at the pink-haired girl.

“I thought you were going to say cherries,” Veronica said as she wrote down the order on a post-it. 

“That’s Raven’s,” Cheryl smiled, flashbacks coming into her head from when she used to work there and make it for the little one. “But make it vanilla, not strawberry.” 

“Of course,” Veronica smiled. “How is she, by the way? I haven’t seen her in forever.”

“She’s okay. Better now, I mean. Except for the fact that she has a broken arm at the moment, she gets irritated when it’s itchy.”

“And I’m guessing she doesn’t know you guys are here? Last time you said she would get upset if she knew you were out having her favorite drink with her favorite person without her.” 

Toni chuckled at the memory. It was true, indeed. “No, she doesn’t. Jug and Betty have her for the night and I specifically told them not to mention it.” 

Toni watched Veronica’s face as she just stood here and stared back at them, a shy smile on her face. One could see it wasn’t just a polite smile, the ones she would give to people just because she can’t lose her job. Genuine smile. 

“I’m glad you guys are working your way back to each other.” She said after a couple of seconds of silence. “Not only for you both, but for Rav, too.”

“Me too,” Cheryl said in response before Toni could manage to let out the same answer. The redhead had her head resting against her hand, propped up on her elbow on the counter. 

Someone called Veronica to get an order somewhere across the shop, so she excused herself and left them alone.

“It’s weird being here without Raven,” Cheryl whispered, her cheeks getting pink and warmer. Looking at Toni now was weird because she didn’t want her thinking she thought they were better off without her sister, but there was only much she could do. “Not that I wouldn’t like it if she was here, you know, I told you it was okay if she tagged along, I’m just saying.”

“Cher, it’s okay,” Toni chuckled, the nickname she gave her still giving Cheryl goosebumps and that stupid feeling of butterflies in her stomach. “I wanted tonight to be about us and us only. Whether we like it or not, kids are always a distraction somehow and I wanted you to have my full attention, even if it’s only for a couple of hours.” 

Cheryl could only smile and nod in response.

She had no idea why she was nervous. They had gone through that before and it wasn’t like Toni was just some random girl she’d met on a dating app, but the whole situation made Cheryl ten times more nervous, if it was possible. Even though she knew deep down she had nothing to lose, Cheryl couldn’t stand saying a word out of place and ruining things. Suddenly, in her head, being herself wasn’t enough.

But Toni could read her like a book. Her favorite book, that she had memorized every line and created different intonations for her favorite dialogues. 

Cheryl’s heart missed a beat when she felt Toni’s palm press against her thigh, on the exact space between her knee and her thigh. She hadn’t even noticed she was bouncing her legs until Toni made it stop.

“Hey, it’s okay,” her voice came out soft and gentle, just like Cheryl remembered it. “You do that a lot when you’re nervous. It’s just me, Cher. “

“I’m sorry.” Cheryl said. Toni tenderly stared at her, her palm never leaving Cheryl’s skin. “I just don’t want to risk ruining things.”

“You’re not going to, I promise,” answered Toni with a smile now. She understood where Cheryl was coming from, and if she was being honest, the feeling was mutual. “Nothing you could say or do can take you away from me again. And I know this might sound like too much, but I just want you to know that.” 

“Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to have met you,” Cheryl said after a few seconds of silence. 

“I ask myself the same thing,” Toni said. “You always told me how you didn't have anybody, but at the end we were all we had. After losing my mom and everything I had to go through with my aunt…”

“Toni, we don’t need to talk about it if you don't want to.”

“No, I do. I feel like I need to get this out of my chest, too.” She smiled gently and Cheryl nodded, a cue for Toni to proceed. “It was dark, Cheryl, until you. Life was so much better when you were in it but then you were gone and it was really hard to cope.”

“Baby…” Cheryl couldn't help but notice the look in Toni’s eyes when she heard the words that slipped out. It was almost like Toni was  _ scared.  _ “Sorry. Force of habit.” 

Toni didn’t say a word. She kept looking at Cheryl as if her presence was more than enough and she didn't need words coming from her for Cheryl to know that.

“I’m not gone,” she simply answered. 

Cheryl reached for Toni’s hand on her thigh, gently squeezing it as she did. Toni’s eyes were locked with Cheryl’s, the redhead leaning in closer now, enough for her free hand to cup her cheek and her thumb to brush gently against the warm skin of her cheek. 

“I’m still here.” Cheryl completed and watched Toni’s face change from whatever fear and pressure she was feeling to a relaxed one. Just like Cheryl remembered from the time when things were okay and easy. “It wasn't easy losing you, I’m not going to deny that. My house was the most lonely place on Earth because every square inch has a memory of you attached to it. I know we decided to take things slowly, but I’m still here, Toni.”

“You promise?” She whispered, watching Cheryl nod without any trace of hesitation. 

“I promised Raven I wouldn't leave again and I did. I’m not going to do that again. Now, I’m promising you too, one more time, that I’m not going anywhere. Unless you don’t want me around.” 

Toni didn't mean to kiss Cheryl out of nowhere, but she did. It was a risk she was willing to take because she missed having Cheryl wholly. Heart, body and soul. Cheryl’s grip on her cheek tightened just slightly, enough for Toni to know she was okay with it, that she wanted it just as much. The smile on both their faces after they parted indicating just as much.

“Please, stay.” Toni didn't know she would have that many mixed emotions about it. At the same time that it went lightly and easy, things seemed to not be going anywhere, walking on thin ice. 

“I’m right here,” Cheryl repeated once again and, finally, Toni felt her muscles relax. 

They were still holding hands, but this time Cheryl’s thumb caressed the top of Toni’s hand, just like she used to. Toni didn't seem alarmed or to be caught off guard. It was easy, for both of them.

They were quickly distracted by the sound of glasses hitting the counter as Veronica placed both of their drinks in front of them. 

“There you go, ladies,” she said. “And I took the liberty to order you guys some fries as well, it’s coming right up.”

Cheryl frowned. “Fries? You serve fries now?” 

“We stay open until later at night now. Boss wanted people to have some proper snacks in winter.” 

A bell rang from the window that separated the kitchen from the counter, a tray of french fries coming through it. 

“Speaking of…” Veronica said before she walked up to grab the order and place it in front of the couple. “There you go!” 

“Thanks, Vee.” Cheryl smiled as she reached for the fries. “Do you mind getting Toni some ketchup?” 

“Coming right up,” she smiled before she left them alone one more time. 

“You remember,” Toni smiled shyly.

“How could I forget? You eat it with  _ everything _ . It’s disgusting sometimes.” 

“Not everything!” Toni protested. “Just some very specific foods. You should try it with dino nuggies. They’re the best to eat it with.” 

“I would rather my soul to leave my body.” 

“Don’t let Rav hear that or she will throw you some fists,” Toni chuckled. “Or  _ a  _ fist, in this case.” 

They knew things were going to be easier. For them as a couple and individually.  It’s only safe to say that after that, things eventually got back to normal.  _ Their  _ normal.

* * *

During the first two weeks Cheryl would appear at Raven’s school in time to give her a hug before Toni went and picked her up, which would always cheer the little girl up. At first Cheryl would ignore the questions of why she wasn’t going with Toni to pick her up anymore since she was back, mostly because she didn’t know how to answer to that and because she didn’t want to make Toni uncomfortable, if that were to be the case. So, passing by to say hello before they parted ways on that specific corner was enough. 

But as time passed and things had settled back as if they had never left each other’s lives, their routine was back to normal and Toni could already feel the changes in Raven’s mood and hers as well. They were back on their Thursday morning FaceTime as Cheryl walked to Toni’s place to have breakfast together and take Raven to school, and Fridays were never really Fridays if they didn’t order pizza. 

Even at school, Raven would always introduce Cheryl as part of her life. It was always “My sister, Toni, and Cheryl”, which took Cheryl off guard when she picked up Raven from school one day. 

“Cheryl! Ms. Hollis wants to talk to you.”

Raven had just left her classroom, walking slowly towards Cheryl as soon as she spotted the redhead waiting outside for her. It was one of those days where Toni was stuck at work and Cheryl would pick the girl up from school, but all three of them were already used to it.

Cheryl bent down to grab her backpack, but a frown of curiosity appeared. “Me? Are you sure it’s not your sister?” 

“Yes, you. Not Toni.” Raven answered and held her hand up, which Cheryl promptly took. “Let’s go.”

As Cheryl walked farther inside the hallways, amusement hit her when she saw the walls covered in children’s art. Most of them made no sense and the lack of perception that they should always color inside the black lines was for sure there, but it had a bit of cuteness to it that Cheryl couldn’t quite point out why. 

Raven’s classroom was the last one to the right, and Cheryl quickly spotted her teacher watching the kids from the door. It didn’t take much longer for the short, hazel-haired woman to notice Raven’s and Cheryl’s presence either.

“Ms. Hollis!” Raven called out, announcing her presence and was welcomed back with a smile.

“Raven! Is that Cheryl, that we talked about today?” She didn’t fail to smile at Cheryl before she talked to the girl, who simply nodded in response. “Nice to finally meet you in person. So far I’ve only seen you in drawings.”

“Well, here I am, in flesh and bones,” Cheryl chuckled shyly. “Nice to meet you, too. Raven mentioned that you would like to talk to me? Is there any problem that I can help with?”

“Oh, yes.” She answered, but looked down at Raven again. “Raven, why don’t you go inside and get the green crayon, inside our locker, and a paper so you can show Cheryl that you know how to draw a beautiful leaf? Does that sound good?”

“Yeah!” 

The women watched Raven walking back inside the classroom, far enough that she couldn’t hear them anymore. 

“We have to distract them somehow,” she explained. “I wanted to talk to you about our Profession Day that is happening next week. Raven was particularly excited about it. She said her sister takes pictures of you, so I believe you’re a model?” 

Cheryl felt her cheeks starting to burn, but still smiled throughout the slight embarrassment. “That’s right, I am. Her sister used to work at the same agency I work for, as a photographer.” 

“That’s so nice. I bet your schedules are crazy.” 

“Mostly during summer, but yes, you could say that.”

“We’re having three of the kids’ parents to come and talk a little bit about their careers next week. We always have firefighters and doctors, but I would love to have you and Toni to talk about yours as well. Change things a little.” She chuckled lightly with a polite smile. “Do you think that would be possible?” 

“Oh, I’m sure Toni and I can rearrange our schedules to make time for it, sure!” Cheryl answered gleefully. “Anything specific that you would want us to prepare to talk about?” 

“Not really. Just what you usually do in a day and the fun bits of it will do.” She explained and Cheryl nodded in response. “Thank you. It will mean a lot for Raven. She always talks about you so dearly when we discuss family topics. I can see that the love between you two is strong.” 

“It truly is,” Cheryl smiled as she heard the words. She could tell the teacher didn't want to invade personal boundaries, but the redhead also knew that she wasn't completely unaware of the situation. “She and her sister have had a rough time with her family. She’s such a special kid and she deserves to be loved more than anything.” 

“I agree with you. She truly is special. And so smart, too. She’s the only one who can read the clock above the blackboard.” She mentioned and Cheryl’s heart grew three sizes. “She basically reads it in code, but at the end of the day she knows what time it is based on the position of the hands for 3:30.” 

Raven appeared out of complete nowhere with a white paper in hands with an enormous leaf drawn on it. Impressively, the lighter green she used to color was all inside the lines. 

“Cheryl, look! I made a leaf! Leaves fall from trees, right, Ms. Hollis?” Raven held the paper up and Cheryl watched Raven answering the teacher’s questions about it for the next two minutes.

As they walked out of the school gates, five minutes later, Cheryl grabbed Raven’s hand while they walked on the street. The teacher’s words were all over Cheryl’s mind, wondering what Raven would say exactly about her and Toni whenever she was asked about family. 

It startled Cheryl a little. Raven was aware that her mother passed away when she was little, that she has an aunt and a sister, but the redhead was dying to know how she included Cheryl in it. 

“Rav, guess what!” 

“What?”

“Toni and I are going to your school with you next week, to talk about our jobs.” 

“Oh!” Raven answered excitedly. “I told Ms. Hollis that Toni takes pictures of you when she goes to work and I play games on your cellphone to wait.” 

Raven stuttered most of the words as she tried to form a coherent sentence, which Cheryl thought was adorable. 

“Did Ms. Hollis ask you about it?”

Raven shook her head no. “No. She asked about our family and mom and dad, but I have Toni and you and I told her.” 

“Oh, I see.” Cheryl said, content with the answer she got. 

“Because you and Toni are my family because Ms. Hollis said that the family takes care of us and you take care of me and Toni takes care of me.” 

It took Raven almost a whole minute to get the sentence out between stutters, words that she kept on repeating and her attention being torn between speaking and kicking the rock on the ground. Cheryl could only look at her and smile

“So that means you’re my family.” 

The entire walk back home wasn't as talkative as it used to be. Raven seemed to be okay with it and Cheryl could really use a minute to let Raven’s words sink in. It felt like it. Cheryl felt like Toni and Raven were her family and the redhead was okay with that. She wasn't sure how Toni felt about it, which made her a little scared. 

A few weeks later, all of those concerns would be gone. 

Toni had just finished helping Raven out of the shower and Cheryl had just washed the last plate in the sink from their Friday dinner. From the kitchen the redhead could eavesdrop Toni asking Raven if she would be okay dressing herself before the pink-haired girl walked into the kitchen, her footsteps getting closer until there was no space between Cheryl’s and Toni’s body.

Toni wrapped her arms around Cheryl’s waist and rested her head against her girlfriend’s back, closing her eyes for a second. Cheryl put the clean dishes on the dish rack, careful to not move too abruptly because of the girl attached to her back. 

When she was done, she gently turned around and wrapped her own arms around Toni’s neck. “Hey, babe.” 

“Hey,” she answered and stood up on her tiptoes to peck Cheryl’s lips. “Thank you for doing the dishes. You didn’t have to.” 

“No need to thank me. I don’t mind, you know that. Besides, you have been exhausted lately. A little help wouldn’t hurt anybody.” Cheryl answered with a light shrug. 

“Well, thank you anyway.” Toni said once again, but Cheryl noticed something was off.

She usually wasn’t that down, even when it was late at night and she was drained from a full day of work. She seemed upset or worried about something, which threw Cheryl off a bit because she hadn’t mentioned anything unusual.

“Did anything happen?,” she asked as she studied her face. 

Cheryl watched Toni taking a deep breath before she answered. 

“Raven asked about our mom today. It’s the first time she does that, even though I talk about her with her all the time.”

“What did she say, exactly? If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.”

“No, it’s okay.” She smiled gently. “She just asked me how she was and if I missed her.”

Cheryl nodded in response, just holding Toni closer to her body to give her any type of comfort. She knew Toni indeed missed her mother and that it got worse around that time of the year, so there wasn’t much the redhead could do other than just be there for her. 

“You never took Raven there, did you?” Cheryl asked, watching Toni move inches away from the crook of her neck, where her head was previously resting, to stare at the redhead with a confused frown.

“Where?”

“ _ There.  _ Your spot, at the park. The rock…” 

“Oh,” Toni answered after the realization. “No, not yet.” 

“Don’t you think it would be nice?” Cheryl proposed, still uncertain about it. “I mean, it does help you when you need it. I guess it would be nice for Raven to feel whatever you feel up there, too.” 

“Isn’t she too young, though? She was too little when it all happened.” 

“She might not understand it or feel it the way you do, but I think it would bring you some sort of peace of mind.” Cheryl explained. “I’m not saying that you  _ have  _ to, it’s just a thought, really. It wouldn’t hurt to try.” 

Toni didn’t answer, instead just tightened her arms around Cheryl’s body as they both stood there, the redhead resting her back against the kitchen sink with Toni in her arms. 

They stood like that for a couple of minutes before Toni untangled herself from Cheryl all of a sudden, walked towards the living room and came back with her phone in hands. 

“Who are you calling?”

“Jug.” She answered to Cheryl before the other side of the line stopped ringing and a low voice echoed through it. “Jug, hi. Can I borrow your car? Yeah, sure. If you could drive here and I drop you off at your place after… Okay, that works. Uh, is 10 minutes okay? I want to come back before it’s too late for Raven to go to bed. Perfect. Thank you.”

Cheryl watched Toni talking on the phone as she mingled around the kitchen. Cheryl wasn’t sure if Toni was doing what she thought she was, but that had happened before. Toni had already asked Jughead for his motorbike to take her there. She smiled at the memory, but soon reality caught up.

“Too afraid to ride his motorbike with Raven?” Cheryl asked with a playful smile. 

“Cher, I can’t fit three people on a motorbike.” Toni answered as if she was stating the obvious and only answer to that question with a confused frown. 

“I’m sleeping here today, remember? No need to give me a ride back home. Unless you want some alone time with Rav today. It’s okay if you do.” Cheryl was as confused as Toni, but she maintained her posture and tried not to let that show much. 

“What are you talking about? You’re going with us.” 

_ Oh. OH. _

“Toni, when I gave you the idea I meant you and Rav only. I’ll be just fine here watching Gilmore Girls or whatever.” 

“Cher, I want you to go. I know you think this is just a Raven-and-I matter, but… you’re my chosen family. I feel safe with you and so does Raven. You know everything that there is to know about it.” Toni explained as she stepped closer to Cheryl.

There wasn’t much to explain, but something inside her twisted when she started to look at Cheryl with brand new eyes. She had seen the redhead with her hair up in a bun several times, but this time it was different. Seeing her in  _ her  _ black sweater, that looked more like a crop top, made her realize that there wasn’t another person she would rather be living at that moment than her. 

If love was something tangible, Toni was sure she could have felt it growing four times bigger at that moment.

“Please? Can you go with us?” Toni asked and watched Cheryl’s smile start to grow. 

Before she could nod in response, say no or give any type of answer, Raven appeared from the hallway.

“Toni, where are we going?” 

Toni picked her up and sat her on the counter, facing Toni but her side to Cheryl. She had dressed up herself in bottom pajamas and her favorite sunflower t-shirt, but Toni didn’t seem to mind. 

“Well, you, Cheryl and I are going on an adventure!”

“But it’s dark out.”

“I know, that’s why it’s an adventure. But we are going to come back home before bedtime. Jug is coming to lend us the car so we can go. Where are your shoes?”

“In my bedroom, under my bed.” 

“So go put them on!” Toni put her back on the floor and watched the girl excitedly run away towards her bedroom one more time. 

When she was far enough, Toni turned her head back to look at Cheryl again, still waiting for the answer she was left without. Cheryl noticed Toni was expecting an answer and just nodded and smiled. 

“Alright,” she simply said. “Thank you for including me and trusting me with this.” 

“Cher, I trust you with my life.” Toni answered softly, her hand reaching for Cheryl’s. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything.”

As they smiled at each other, Jughead made his presence known by honking several times. Both of them rolled their eyes, walking away to grab the keys as Raven walked out of her bedroom and headed to the door. 

The ride back to Jughead’s place to drop him off didn’t take more than five minutes and in fifteen they were already sitting on that rock that had been Toni’s safe haven for such a long time. She hadn’t been there for a while and she had almost forgotten how good it feels to be up there.

The rock was definitely too small for all three of them, so Toni put Raven sitting down on hers and Cheryl’s lap, their thighs giving enough space for her to be comfortable. Toni watched Cheryl talking to Raven about the lights and the stars, giving her some time to think about how to start talking about it.

She could not put into words how grateful she was for Cheryl. Toni really felt things got easier to handle once she had her and when she got her back. She knew how to handle some situations with Raven that, sometimes, Toni thought was impossible for her to know if she didn’t have a younger sibling herself, but that was just how deep their connection was. Cheryl knew how to handle when things got difficult with Toni as well, or at least how to handle it better now. She listened. She cared. 

When Toni noticed a cue, she took a deep breath before she started to talk.

“Rav, remember that earlier today you asked about mom?” Toni asked the girl and got a nod in response. “You asked me if I missed her, right?” 

Another nod.

“I do miss her a lot. When I miss her, I like coming here. See how it’s quiet and the breeze feels good on the skin? We’re not too hot or too cold.” 

Raven looked down at her own arms, touching her forearm gently with her fingertips. “It’s true, I’m not cold and I’m not hot.” 

“Exactly. I like to look at the sky and think about mom, what she would say…” Toni trailed off as her eyes stared at the dark sky in front of her. 

Cheryl sat there, watching Toni and Raven talking about their mother’s traits and everything else that happened while she was still alive. How Christmas would be the best of holidays and the hunt on Easter mornings that would always make Toni lose a few hours of sleep due to excitement. 

At some point, Toni started to tear up. Cheryl understood that the memories were too much sometimes and she felt it hard. She had to do the role of the mom and the big sister all of a sudden and way too early in life, and even though she was used to it by now, sometimes she really wished her mother was here to see that they turned out okay. 

“You okay?” Cheryl whispered to her girlfriend next to her while Raven was distracted enough counting how many white dots were there in the sky (even though she couldn't count past ten). 

“Mhm,” Toni hummed in response. “Just wished mom was here, just for five minutes, so she could see how amazing Raven grew up to be.” 

“She knows, babe. She’s proud of you, wherever she is.” Cheryl reached for Toni’s hand, that was resting on Raven’s thigh as she held her in place, through the gap between their bodies. 

“She would absolutely love you.” Toni said to Cheryl, who smiled shyly as her cheeks started to get warmer. 

Raven turned her head to Toni, her murmur getting her attention. 

“Love me?” 

“Mom loved you so, so much already,” Toni smiled. “But I was telling Cheryl that mom would love to meet her, too. Don’t you think?” 

“Yes! Everybody loves Cheryl!” She said it to Cheryl, but turned around to face Toni this time. “I love Cheryl, you love Cheryl…” 

Toni chuckled at her sister’s excitement before she said, “We do love her so much, don’t we?” 

“Uhumm,” she hummed and turned around and gave the redhead an unexpected tight hug, the little girl’s arms wrapping around her neck. 

“But I love both of you more!” Cheryl answered between giggles and felt Toni’s body colliding against Raven’s and, therefore, hers as well, the pink-haired lady’s arms reaching enough to hold both of them into a clumsy embrace. 

“Not possible!” 

“We are going to fall!” Cheryl said, starting to lose balance on her legs. “Toni!” 

“Alright,” she let go of them and allowed them both to get their balance back on the rock. 

“And I don’t want to get another cast on my arm,” Raven said as she stood up from their laps, and, standing, started counting the stars again, over and over again. 

Toni took another look at the sky while Cheryl pulled her closer to her body, both of them just enjoying the moment. 

Then, a shooting star. 

Raven noticed it too and an audible gasp came out of her mouth. 

“Oh!” She said before she turned around. “A star! A flying star!” 

Toni chuckled before she corrected her. “A  _ shooting  _ star, Rav. Quick, make a wish! But in your head, otherwise it won't come true.” 

Cheryl and Toni watched Raven close her eyes forcefully for a few seconds and open them again right after. 

“Okay! I have it!” She answered. “Now that the star fell down I have to count them again. Where was I? Well, 1, 2, 3, 4…” 

Toni watched Raven for a second, the immensity of the sky giving her a sensation that no matter what happened, they would be okay. Their mom would make sure of that. 

“We’re truly okay, aren't we?” Toni whispered, mostly to herself, hoping her mother would answer back. 

Instead, she felt Cheryl’s lips gently pressing against her temple and her arms wrapping tighter around her body. 

Yeah, they were okay.

* * *

**04 YEARS LATER**

Cheryl felt her stomach churn three hundred times inside her as she held it in hands. 

She had thought about it for  _ weeks _ . Months, even. It felt right. Veronica, on the other side of the phone, wasn't helping much with the nerves. 

_ “What are you waiting for!? A divine intervention!?” _

“I am  _ nervous,  _ Veronica.” Cheryl answered, her tone going up two octaves. “What if she doesn't like it?”

“Please. She loves everything you do. Now, go get your girl, Cheryl.” Veronica said, oddly politely. “She’s already yours.” 

Cheryl took a deep, quivery breath, before she answered. “Okay. Wish me luck?” 

_ “You got this. Now hang up on me and Go. Get. Your. Girl.”  _

“Bossy,” Cheryl complained and rolled her eyes. “Bye.” 

Veronica didn't respond and the line went mute the second after. The nerves started to build up again and Cheryl had to try and calm herself down in order to actually leave the mall and do whatever she needed to do. 

_ She's already yours.  _

It was now or never and she had waited long enough. 


	2. as long as you come home at the end of the day, that would be enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is ready to do it, she's ready for whatever it takes her to have Toni. A lot happens, and Toni couldn't be more certain that she wants to love no one else other than Cheryl until her final days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! :)
> 
> well this one is HUGE, as you can see. i think it's 16k or so, so enjoy that one. if you're not really into long chapters i am so deeply sorry. 
> 
> i'm not going to say anything else because i dont want to spoil it, so: enjoy! :)

“I’m going to pick Raven up from school and you’ll have to come up with something, Veronica, I don’t care what it is. Say you need help choosing an outfit for a family dinner or whatever.” 

Cheryl was a mess. Not in a bad way, but her anxiety truly was getting the best of her. 

She had started to think about it on her birthday, when Toni planned an entire weekend for all three of them in Mont Blanc. If Cheryl had known beforehand that Toni would spend that much money on her birthday gift she would definitely have done something to change her mind, but if there was something Toni could be, that was stubborn. But, at the end of the day, watching Raven skiing down a mountain and laughing until tears were rolling down her cheeks when she fell face first on the snow was absolutely priceless. 

Cheryl had all of that. She had the giggles and the tears. The awesome days at work and also the exhausting, frustrating ones. The donuts on Sunday evenings and the sleepless nights whenever one of them was sick. Somehow, it still wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She wanted more than just being Raven’s emergency contact because she didn’t have anyone else other than her sister. Cheryl wanted Toni to understand that, even four years later, she wasn’t going anywhere, just like she had promised them many years ago. 

_“Cheryl, you know her better than I do and yet I know that’s not going to work. She will say that you’re the one that can speak fashion language, not her.”_

Cheryl hit the steering wheel in frustration, a sigh coming out. 

She was parked in front of Raven’s school, almost an hour before she was supposed to be done with school for the day. For the last twenty minutes, Cheryl and Veronica had been on the phone, but Veronica’s innumerable attempts of trying to calm Cheryl’s nerves failed both of them. 

“Tell her you want to surprise me, then. She will think you have no clue what to get me for Christmas and since she knows me better, she will be able to help.” Cheryl said, staring at the gate and wondering if she should do it or not.

“Yeah, that’s more reasonable,” Veronica agreed on the other side of the line. “And how long do you need me to stall for?”

“At least an hour and a half. She doesn’t know I’m picking Raven up earlier.” 

Cheryl’s palms were sweating. She could hear the noises from Veronica’s phone on the speaker, but her thoughts were too loud for her to concentrate on anything else, only on the speech she had prepared and written down for the last seven days. 

“Why are you so anxious about Rav’s answer? You already know she adores you.”

“It’s different, you know that.” Cheryl said. “For her, everything is different. She feels things way more than we do. I just have to, Vee.” 

Cheryl heard Veronica sighing before she answered, “you’re right. You do know them better than I do, so you do whatever you need to. I’ll distract your girl.”

“Call me if something goes wrong.” 

After Veronica hummed in agreement, Cheryl heard the line going mute, her leg bouncing up and down one more time as anxiety started to get the best of her. 

She went over her plan one more time, just to make sure she had everything set in place: pick Raven up, take her to the mall with the excuse of the approaching holidays and the lack of time they had been spending together, buy her two packs of Skittles—the other one being simply a container for the blue, yellow and green ones because Cheryl knew Raven still wouldn’t eat the ones that aren’t red, as they walked through the hallways until they finally sat at their favorite café, the one that served lactose-free whipped cream so they could have a snack and Cheryl to, subtly, drop the question. 

Plans weren’t always Cheryl’s thing, but she couldn’t let go of the small red planner she bought _just_ for that occasion. It had scribbles from January to October, in every single page, because it needed to be perfect. Messing things up **again** was _not_ an option or even something to consider. Of course, she had hidden that planner under the carpet of her car because Raven and Toni were over at her place all the time and she couldn’t risk either of them finding it. 

Letting life lead Cheryl wherever it was supposed to was the redhead’s motto. Not try to write her own destiny, no matter how much power her words could hold. 

She had planned the exact time she would call Raven’s school and say that she had a doctor appointment with the excuse that she had been complaining about not being able to see the blackboard properly, or things that weren’t near her sight (reason why she had fallen the other day in PE and scraped her knee), and unfortunately her sister was unavailable. As her emergency contact number, the school had to let her go. 

It was easier than Cheryl thought, and three minutes after she had talked to the secretary about her call and the reason she was there to pick the girl earlier, Raven appeared at the end of the hallway, backpack hanging from both her shoulders as she jogged her way to where Cheryl waited for her. 

“Cheryl!” The smile on the girl’s face as she saw the redhead standing on a corner was something Cheryl never got tired of, and Raven never seemed to not give the redhead the best and bigger smile she could. “Why are you here? It’s not three thirty yet.”

_Three-thirty_. God, she had grown up fast. 

It wasn’t _‘small wasn’t on three and big wasn’t on six’_ or _‘it’s not small to three and big to six and you’re supposed to be here only when it’s small to three and big to six’._ Raven wasn’t five anymore. Soon, she would turn ten and now she could read the clocks the way adults did. A tug at Cheryl’s heart made her realize how much time she had spent with them, and how _right_ it felt to watch her grow up so close to her, to her heart, and not only from inside a milkshake shop. 

“You’re right, it’s not. You have an eye doctor appointment, remember?” Cheryl lied, hoping she would just go with it and not pay much attention to detail. “We have to rush if we want to get there in time.”

Raven frowned in confusion. “I can see just fine.” 

Cheryl almost choked, feeling she had just been caught in her own lie by a child. 

“Well, your sister asked me to take you to the appointment she scheduled for you, so that’s where we’re headed. Okay?”

Cheryl tried not to stutter or she would really have to face the embarrassment she would feel in front of the secretary and everyone else around. Luckily, Raven just nodded twice and started walking towards the door that led to the patium. Cheryl sighed in relief and followed the girl, waving goodbye and murmuring ‘thank you’ as she left the place. 

Cheryl didn’t have to drive much longer and Raven didn’t seem to have any questions regarding that eye doctor appointment, but when Cheryl took a familiar turn and got in line to enter the mall’s parking lot, the redhead watched Raven shift on her seat. 

“Weren’t we supposed to go to the doctor?” 

Cheryl shook her head, clicking her tongue in denial. “Nope. I thought we could have a nice afternoon, just the two of us today.”

“You tell me not to lie but you just did! To people at my school!” 

“I know and this is really not nice, but it’s a nice occasion. It’s Christmas in a week and we’ve barely spent time together lately.”

“You work too much.” Raven said, eyes darting from Cheryl to the parking spots in front of her, Cheryl’s attentive eyes looking for one. “You barely have time for us anymore.” 

“I know, boo,” Cheryl said, maneuvering the steering wheel as she parked the straightest she could. “That’s why I’m taking this afternoon for us, but don’t tell your sister or she will cut me into pieces.”

Cheryl pushed the brake and turned the engine off, looking at Raven on the passenger seat now and saw the girl mimicking a zip on her own mouth before she gave the redhead an excited smile. They got out of the car and walked inside as if it was a lazy saturday evening. Raven didn’t seem to mind skipping school but Cheryl did have her concerns about it. However, she needed to get it done if she wanted everything to work. 

“Are you hungry?” Cheryl asked before she could choose a turn to take. 

“A little bit. I forgot to take my lunch bag today, so I bought some apple juice with the money Toni gave me yesterday.”

“Did you like it?” Cheryl asked. She was aware the girl hadn’t tried it yet.

“No,” she pressed her lips together in a straight line before they turned into a shy smile. “It’s gross.” 

“What do you say we have some orange juice then?” Cheryl asked and turned to the left as she saw Raven nodding in response. 

They walked side by side, eyeing the display of the clothing stores, toy stores and everything else there was to be seen. Cheryl had the perfect question to ask her to subtly introduce the subject, but she was still nervous about it. She could always ask her directly, but knowing Raven and how she reacted to sudden changes, the redhead worked her way to a better path. 

Raven spotted her favorite booth, empty. _Lucky day._ She ran to it and tapped on the free spot next to her for Cheryl to sit next to her, as the redhead came to do a few seconds later. 

“Have you thought about what you want for Christmas?” Cheryl asked a few seconds after she handed the manu back to the waitress who came to take their order. “What about your letter to Santa?”

“I know Santa isn’t real. Naya told me this at school last year.” She said with a giggle, her arms laying flat on the table serving her as support as Raven lowered her chin down to rest on her tangled hands. 

“Oh, right, it must’ve slipped my mind.” Cheryl said apologetically, even though she knew the little girl didn’t believe in that tale anymore. “Do you have something in mind?” 

“I asked Toni for those rainbow sneakers I saw at the store the other day…” She started, not looking Cheryl in the eyes. 

“The Converse?” Cheryl asked and Raven nodded. “Alright. And…?”

“I wanted a phone too, but my sister said she would have to think about that one.” 

It broke Cheryl’s heart to see the sad tone in her voice. 

Toni had mentioned it previously, about how much Raven wanted a phone, mostly for games and cartoons. The pink-haired girl was reluctant at first because she knew the dangers of the internet in the hands of a nine-year-old, even though she trusted Raven not to do anything if Toni asked her to. Even during one of their nights together, Cheryl had spotted Toni looking for phones and comparing prices. She was okay with giving it to her, Toni just wanted to keep it a secret for now. 

“Having a phone is a big responsibility, right? That’s why she said she had to think about it?” Cheryl came up with an excuse, the same Toni told the redhead she had used. 

“Yeah, Toni told me that.” 

“Okay, so you asked your sister for sneakers and a phone, but what about me?” Cheryl asked, watching Raven’s facial expression, a blank stare with a twitch of a confused frown. Maybe she had worded the sentence wrong. “I mean, I’m going to get you something that you want, too.” 

“But why?” It was a genuine question.

“Well…” Cheryl started, looking for the right words. “Every year I get you something. Do you remember when we first met? I got you that Ariel doll and you and Toni spent the night with me.”

“Yes, I remember. A bit.” 

“So, what do you want? We can go and look for it today if you want.”

“Did Toni give you money?”

“No, she doesn’t have to. I have enough money here.” 

“But it’s your money. You have to ask my sister!” 

The waitress approached the table with their orders, and placed the orange juice, the waffles and the cookies in front of them, leaving a white and red straw for Raven as she had asked. Cheryl thanked the lady and waited until she was gone to answer.

“Rav, how old are you today?” 

“Cheryl, you know how old I am!” She answered with the straw between her teeth, letting it slip into the glass. “I’m nine!” 

“And how old were you when we met, do you remember?” 

Raven put up five fingers and counted them, touching her fingertips with her opposite index finger. “Five.”

“Exactly! I met you four years ago and we have been in each other’s lives since then. You even lived with me for a while.”

“When Toni and I left my aunt Amelia’s house.” 

“And we’re friends, right?” Cheryl asked and Raven promptly nodded, taking a bite out of her waffle. 

“We are! Since I was this little.” Raven made a pinch with her fingers and smiled. 

“I’ve been watching you grow up for four years now, that’s a lot of time. I don’t need to ask your sister for money to buy you things because I like to buy things for you, with my own money. Don’t worry about it, okay?” Cheryl tried to sound as smooth and nice as possible, and she smiled gladly when she saw Raven smiling and nodding in agreement as well. 

“Okay,” she said. “Can I think about it?”

“Sure,” Cheryl nodded. “But you have to tell me before Christmas. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Cheryl had the cue she needed. Talk about their past, let her know that she’s not leaving any time soon. She did for a while, but that Cheryl isn’t about to do the same mistake twice. 

“Also, Rav, I wanted to ask you something. About Toni.” 

“What?”

“You know your sister and I have been in each other’s lives for a while, right?” A nod in response. “And do you remember how I told you and Toni that I’m not going to leave you two again?”

“You didn’t. You’re here with me, having orange juice and waffles,” she sang the last part, joy written on her face.

“I love you and I love Toni so much my heart grows until it’s this big,” Cheryl opened her arms, stretching them out the furthest she could. “You two have been my family for years now and I don’t want to ever, ever leave you or your sister again.” 

“I don’t want you to go either,” she whispered, looking at Cheryl for a fraction of a second. “Our house would be too empty without you.”

Cheryl smiled at the words and immediate flashbacks came to her head.

**02 YEARS BEFORE**

Cheryl had it all planned out. 

She had bought Toni two actual gifts, which were carefully hidden inside her closet. She couldn’t have Toni thinking she didn’t get her anything when the actual gift she meant to give her wasn’t anything material. 

Toni had been talking about a new camera for months, looking up prices and checking her bank account at the end of every month to see if she was going to be able to save enough to buy a new one. Cheryl didn’t hesitate to get one of her paychecks and get the one Toni had been eyeing for the last two weeks, along with the wireless headphones Raven had asked Santa for since Cheryl had broken hers during one of their pillow fights. It truly was the least she could do. 

She couldn’t wrap her head on what to do for **the one**. The one idea she had in mind wasn’t the most pleasant because of course Toni would notice the difference between the boxes. Two of them were huge and the other one would simply fit in her palm. However, there was no other way for her to do it. 

As she walked towards the parking lot, she found a toy store. What caught her eye was the most imbecilic, childish idea ever, but she truly had run out of ideas and possibilities. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Cheryl whispered to herself as she walked inside the store, quickly greeted by one of the sales workers. “Hi, I’ll take one of those, please.” 

Needless to say, the redhead had spent the night prior to the 24th, which would be at Toni’s place, putting up pieces together. A chuckle would come out every once in a while as she did it, still wondering how the _hell_ had she ended up there.

So, Christmas night. 

An eventful night. 

Cheryl had promised Raven that she would wear something red because _‘red is your color, Cheryl, and it’s Christmas!’_ and she wasn’t about to disappoint a seven-year-old. 

When Cheryl got to Toni’s house, barely managing to hold three boxes in two hands, she found Raven in a red and white dress, with a giant, _giant_ bow on her lower back. It was adorable and the white, round flats on her feet were only adding to the extreme cuteness. 

Toni, on the other hand, looked _stunning._ Cheryl knew the pink-haired girl could rock any color but _God,_ the way her skin contrasted with the white jeans and the red satin blouse was something else. 

“We’re all in red!” Raven said joyful as she laid eyes on Cheryl’s slong, slitted dress. “Uh, gifts!” 

“I think Santa dropped these outside while he was passing by.” Cheryl lied once she caught sight of Toni with widened eyes in sheer panic and an _oh my God what are we going to do now_ once she saw the presents. “He left a note saying you can only open it after midnight, though.”

“It’s past my bedtime.” Raven answered, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’m sure Toni will make an exception for today.”

“Can you convince her?” Raven asked with pleading eyes and how could Cheryl ever say no?

“Always, boo.” Cheryl answered, seconds before Raven ran off to where she had been before, coloring a children’s Christmas themed book. “Hi, babe.” 

“You look illegally stunning.” Toni greeted, eyeing her from head to toe as she put the boxes on the counter, careful enough not to drop them on the floor. 

Cheryl rolled her eyes for a second and leaned down to take Toni’s lips on hers. One, two, three, four pecks on plump, covered in lip balm, lips. 

“You _are_ illegally stunning, so I’m a little behind here.” Cheryl said, watching Toni’s cheeks slightly blushing. “I’m sorry about that, I forgot she couldn’t see it.” 

“It’s okay, she bought your awful lie.” 

“ _Listen_ ,” she started. “I am very bad at coming up with things on the spot. And under intimidating pressure!”

“A seven-year-old pressures you?” Toni asked with her eyebrow raised, arms coming together to cross over her chest, enchantment written all over her face.

“No, but your death glare coming from behind the seven-year-old… Yes, pretty much.” 

Cheryl put the gifts under the tree, and along with Toni, sat on the floor, and helped Raven to finish coloring that page while snacking on some croutons and tomatoes. Toni had set the table beautifully and it made Cheryl almost want to cry.

She hadn’t had Christmas like that in _so long._ The **smell.** It was one of those holidays that had a certain smell to it. Family. Home. _._

Even though she was a hundred percent present in the moment, her mind was also spinning on the one box, the bigger one carefully wrapped in a golden and red package, under the tree. 

The hours ticked by and hunger started to take over. Toni had Raven try on new types of meat, which went smoothly and successfully. Cheryl ate all of the raisins that Toni had carefully picked out, smiling like a child every time the pink-haired girl separated another one on the edges of her plate. 

_Get someone who will eat your olives if you don’t like them_ , the theory says, but in Toni’s mind the raisins were working just fine.

They sat, all of them together with backs resting against the couch and bodies too close to each other, on the floor forty minutes later. They had eaten, they had laughed, and the clock read 11:47. Cheryl had a leg over Toni’s lap, while Raven carefully rested her side against Toni’s, exhaustion getting the best out of her. Toni had a speech. It was only the three of them and she had a _speech_ prepared. 

“I could not put into words how grateful and happy that we’re all together here this year again,” she started, putting her glass of wine away enough from Raven’s clumsiness. “And that we get to spend another Christmas night in family, even if ours is small.” 

“It doesn’t matter if we have a big or a small family, what matters is that we’re all together.” Cheryl answered, moving closer to them, looking at Raven now. “And that we have fun, that we take care of each other and, most important, _love_ each other. Right?” 

“Yeah,” Toni whispered, eyes fixed on Cheryl’s as she spoke, feeling Raven nod against her skin.

It was always like that. Toni would stare at Cheryl, completely mesmerized, as she spoke. She couldn’t get enough of her, ever. 

Toni was willing to let Raven stay awake until midnight, but the sleeping girl in her arms wasn’t much of a surprise. Cheryl said she would clean up while Toni carried Raven to bed, carefully not to wake the girl. It didn’t take longer than three minutes and soon Toni was back in the living room. 

When Cheryl finished cleaning, she met Toni resting her back against the kitchen counter, a glass of wine in hands and eyes tenderly staring at her. 

“What?” Cheryl asked and met a soft shake of Toni’s head. 

“You’re so beautiful, Cher.” She said with a sigh, almost as if she was holding her breath. “So, _so_ beautiful.” 

Cheryl just loved that woman so much it hurt. It physically made her chest clench and her heart race. She stared at Toni’s angelic features for a second before she smiled her way into a kiss.

“I have something for you,” Cheryl whispered on Toni’s lips before she moved away to look into her eyes. 

“So do I.” 

Cheryl took the glass of wine from her hands and placed it on the counter before she took Toni’s hands in hers, walking towards the tree and pointing to the box.

“That one.” Cheryl said, sitting on the floor on her folded legs. 

“I thought that one was Raven’s.” Toni admitted, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and then picking the box up. “That’s huge.”

“Yours, baby.” Cheryl smiled, her hands starting to shake and nervousness making her heart race. “Open it.” 

Cheryl watched with anxious eyes as Toni ripped the paper. **Slowly.** Agonizingly slow. Her fingers worked their way to get the tape off the corners, ripping one by one, before she took the lid of the cardboard box off and looked at Cheryl in confusion.

“I’m pretty sure this is for Raven,” Toni said, still not sure what to do with that. 

“Just take it out of the box and don’t laugh.” Cheryl pleaded and Toni obeyed, her chest stuttering as she laughed. “Over the top or it will break.”

Toni did as she was told and removed the box carefully, her eyes meeting a colorful lego house. She wasn’t sure what to do or what it meant, until it clicked.

“Cher, no. No!” She said, standing up way too fast for her feet to keep track and for the lack of balance due to the alcohol. 

“You didn’t even open it—” 

“No!” Toni answered from somewhere inside her bedroom, coming out a few seconds later with a gift in hands. “Open this.”

“You didn’t even wait until you s—”

“Babe, open!” Toni asked one more time, sitting back on the spot she had previously been. 

Cheryl ripped the paper apart and opened the box, finding a framed picture they had taken when Toni had moved into the apartment. They were sitting on the mattress, on the floor, on Toni’s first night there. The mattress was too big for the bed so it had to stay on the floor for a couple of days until Toni decided to get a new one. They had laid there for as long as they could, enjoying each other’s presence, each other’s warmth. On the picture, Cheryl’s lips were pressing against Toni’s cheek and she had the biggest smile on. 

The redhead remembered that day as if it were yesterday. 

“Look behind the frame.” Toni asked. 

It didn’t impress Cheryl much that they had planned the same thing. It was amusing, to say the least. 

“Take off the roof.” Cheryl asked, eagerly watching Toni’s face as she did. 

A lego house. Inside, a note. 

**_Move in with me? Permanently this time?_ **

Behind the frame that Cheryl had in hands, a note and a key taped to the back. 

**_I know you already have one in case of emergency, but I want yours to be permanent. Move in with us?_ **

“Babe, I had a whole speech prepared.” Cheryl said tenderly.

“So did I.” Toni answered, taking in every feature of Cheryl’s face that was now dimly lit by the lights on the tree. 

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, both with smiles on their faces that weren’t going to be erased soon.

Of course the answer was yes. For Cheryl, it would always be yes.

Cheryl couldn’t find it in her heart anywhere else she would like to go other than to who felt like home to her. 

Toni pulled Cheryl in, her hand cupping perfectly Cheryl’s cheek, and placed her lips on top of hers. She smelled like cinnamon this time, not strawberries and cherries and lavender. Cinnamon. **_Home._ **

“Is that a yes?” Cheryl asked with a certain uncertainty to her tone. 

“I believe the right question right now is: our place or yours?” 

_B_ _ut you’re not just my emergency contact, right? You’re still my Cheryl cherry, right?_

_And Toni is_ **_our_ ** _Toni Macaroni._

**_Our_ ** _place._

_I know where Raven gets it from now, the way with words,_ Cheryl thought to herself, leaving Toni waiting for an answer as her mind took her right back to a memory. 

“It’s easier for one to come than two, and we do have more space here,” Toni’s voice echoed in what seemed to be a farther distance, bringing Cheryl back to her current reality. 

“I wonder what Raven will think when she gets the news in the morning.” Cheryl said, snuggling up against Toni’s side, her head resting against her chest. 

“That her Cheryl Cherry is finally coming home? Oh, no. So disappointing. The world might end.” Toni mocked, feeling Cheryl’s body stutter as she chuckled. 

“I’m over all the time. I’m pretty sure she’s going to be more excited about that lego house that she will build and rebuild at least seven times.” 

“Honestly?” Toni said, pulling Cheryl closer to her body, placing a kiss on top of the redhead’s head. “Me, too.” 

“You have one more under the tree,” Cheryl whispered to Toni’s ear, her lips dangerously close to her neck.

“So do you,” Toni answered. “But Raven will be goddamn mad if we open them without her.”

To that day, Toni would still make fun of Cheryl for buying a box of Legos to build a house and Cheryl was still whining about not being able to have played Lego House, by Ed Sheeran, while she tried to ask her to move in. 

It was the last time they would have to set two Christmas trees.

“Cheryl? Cheryl!” 

Cheryl only noticed she had zoned out when she felt Raven waving her head close to her face, clearly trying to get her attention back from the sweet memory of the past Christmas. 

“Sorry,” she apologized. “What was I saying?”

“I said that our house would be too empty if you left again.”

The words triggered Cheryl’s memory back, taking her to the starting point all over again. “And I would feel too alone and my heart would be too empty without you two in my life.”

Cheryl studied Raven’s face for a while. No confusion, no sadness, no excitement. Blank. 

“That’s why I want to ask you if it’s okay if I stay around for…. Ever?” Cheryl tried not to stutter, watching the girl’s eyes moving as she cut another piece of her waffle. “If it’s okay if I ask your sister to marry me?” 

Oh no. 

There it was. 

The words were out there and there was no swallowing them back. 

Cheryl’s hands were shaking. _Shaking._ Colder than a January morning. 

The words that were soon to come out of Raven’s mouth made Cheryl’s blood run inside her body so fast that she thought she would faint. 

“Why are you asking me? Aren’t you supposed to ask Toni if she wants to marry you?”

“Because you’re the biggest, most important part of her life. And mine, too. I want you to be okay with that before I ask your sister.” Cheryl explained, the words making no sense as they came out of her mouth. “So… What do you say?”

“Of course it’s okay, Cheryl! You already live with us and you said it yourself a lot of times, we’re a family, right?” Raven asked, knowing the answer would come affirmative. “I don’t see why not.” 

“It’s going to be official. Toni and I are going to be officially married. I’m not saying things are going to change a lot, but there are going to be a little changes here and there, nothing much.” 

A minute, an entire minute, of silence settled between them and Cheryl started to get anxious. Raven twirled the straw inside the glass of juice three times, moving the little grains of sugar around. 

“I always felt like you were kind of an aunt to me.” She said, making eye contact for three seconds before looking back at her waffle. “You know, I have auntie Veronica, and uncle Jug and auntie Betty, but you always felt like auntie Cheryl, too. If you marry my sister, does that mean I can call you auntie Cheryl?” 

There it was. 

The tug at her heart of when it was supposed to grow four times its usual size, figuratively speaking. Cheryl thought it could be for real now. She could almost feel the space between her lungs getting too small to fit it as it grew, grew, grew. 

“Baby, you can call me whatever you want. You can call me Cheryl, Cheryl cherry, Cheryl Blossom…” Cheryl started, trailing off as she thought of more nicknames. “People used to call me Cheryl Bombshell when I was younger, so if you want to call me that… But it would be totally fine if you want to call me auntie Cheryl. Whatever makes you happy. Okay?”

“Okay,” she answered and Cheryl could almost hear relief in her tone.

“Toni cannot know that I asked you about this, okay? I want it to be a surprise. It’s going to be our little secret.” Cheryl asked and watched Raven nod. The redhead held her pinkie out and waited until Raven took it in hers.

“ **Our** little secret. No Toni this time.”

“Perfect,” Cheryl smiled, the heaviest weight being taken off her shoulders. She took a deep breath, one she had been holding in for so long.

She knew Veronica was right. Raven wouldn’t be opposed. It was their normal already, but now it was going to be on paper. She had nothing to worry about.

“I have a question, though.”

Oh no.

Oh **no.**

“What is it?”

“Are you going to get married in a white dress or in a red dress?” She asked, squinting as if she was thinking about it. 

“Uh,” Cheryl said, not able to manage words out. “I- I don’t know. I still haven’t thought about that. I haven’t even asked your sister to marry me yet. Why?”

“Red,” she said. 

“Red? Why? Don’t you think the white one will be pretty?”

Raven shook her head no, taking another bite. “Nah, you’re too pale.”

Cheryl widened her eyes at the answer. A genuine, yet playful one. She could see it in Raven’s eyes and the smile she was holding. 

“Brutally honest we are today, I see.” 

Raven chuckled, and like clockwork, Cheryl’s phone rang inside her purse. Toni. 

_Now I have a week to work on that ring,_ Cheryl thought to herself before she picked up the phone. “Hey, babe. Yeah, I can pick her up, no problem. I’ll pick you up at work as well in twenty.”

* * *

**DECEMBER 30th** **— THE DAY BEFORE**

_“You got this. Now hang up on me and Go. Get. Your. Girl.”_

“Bossy,” Cheryl complained and rolled her eyes. “Bye.” 

Veronica didn't respond and the line went mute the second after. The nerves started to build up again and Cheryl had to try and calm herself down in order to actually leave the mall and do whatever she needed to do. 

_She's already yours._

It was now or never and she had waited long enough. 

Cheryl had a small plastic bag hanging from her wrist, a little black box inside holding the ring she had bought to ask Toni to marry her. She had tried being as subtle as she could when she asked her if that snake ring she had still fit her because oh, how much Cheryl _adored_ that ring on her. Of course, Toni put it on a few minutes later with an obvious confused frown on her face, but it fit perfectly. Later that night, after Toni had already dozed off to dreamland, Cheryl managed to get it from their vanity and hide it in her purse to get the engagement ring measured from it. That would have to do. 

Impressively, Raven had managed not to let a word out about Cheryl’s plan. She didn’t even mention any weddings or talked about dresses with Toni around, which made Cheryl sleep easier at night. One word and it would all be destroyed. 

Cheryl had it all planned and it had to work. 

Along with the tiny black box, Cheryl had made a quick stop at a store before she headed out of the mall. For her plan to work, she would need _noise._ Raven still couldn’t deal well with loud noises and being in noisy places wasn’t her first choice when they went out, but Cberyl _had_ to do it. She couldn’t tell Raven yet why she had bought her ear muffs out of complete nowhere, but she would have enough time to come up with an excuse while she drove home.

Half an hour later she was parking the car in the garage, checking one last time that the box was well hidden under the mess of papers inside the glove compartment. She made sure to take all the hair ties and pens and whatever Toni could possibly _need_ from there because Cheryl knew she would find out if she left it inside the house. Leaving it at Veronica’s was a possibility, but how would she explain that stop to Toni was the thing keeping her from doing it. So, inside their car it was.

December 31st was the day. All she had to do was keep Toni away from the car, or at least the passenger seat, for as long as she could. 

_I can do that,_ she thought. _All I have to do is just buy everything she will want before New Year’s Eve and we’re good._

At least that was what Cheryl thought. 

_Put on a straight face, Blossom. She will notice if you’re acting weird,_ Cheryl repeated inside her head as she climbed the stairs to their apartment, perfectly timed for her to recompose herself and actually manage to not let her anxiousness be noticed. 

The minute she opened the door, the smell of Toni’s incredible bolognese sauce hit her nostrils, along with lavender and mint. It welcomed Cheryl almost like a summer breeze. After two years she still hadn’t gotten used to the feeling of having a place that felt like **home.** Truly felt like it.

“Babe?” Cheryl heard Toni’s muffled voice coming from Raven’s bedroom and an immediate smile tugged at the corner of her lips. 

“Yeah, I’m home.”

“Raven’s room,” said Toni, seconds after Cheryl stepped close enough to see the complete _mess._

Papers everywhere. Three piles of clothes, toys and a bunch of things that Cheryl hadn’t seen in months, probably more than a year, spread around the floor. Toni was sitting on the floor with a giant plastic bag next to her, using it as a trash bag, while Raven looked inside one of her drawers for more things to get rid of. 

“Have I told you how much I love you today?” Toni looked up and sheepishly smiled, Cheryl’s lips turning into a smile as her eyes slightly rolled back. Cheryl leaned down and gently kissed Toni’s lips twice.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Help her with what goes in the trash bag and what stays, please?”

Cheryl tip toed her way into the room, greeted by Raven with a smile. As usual, the redhead placed a kiss on her forehead before she kneeled on the floor to have better access to the messy drawer.

“Okay, what are these?” Cheryl asked as she took a pile of papers from it.

They all seemed to be drawings she made when she was younger. Most of them made no sense, just colorful scrabbles on a piece of paper. Cheryl found the one drawing she had made, all three of them in Cheryl’s couch as Raven held a milkshake in her hand. The corners were ripped, it had served as decoration in Raven’s bedroom for a while until she asked to hang an actual framed picture on it instead. Cheryl looked up at the spot where the drawing used to be, above her bed, and smiled. That one was definitely going to be kept.

“Do you want to keep these?” Cheryl asked Raven, holding the bundle up to her.

As Raven shuffled through the papers, she separated three before she gave it back to Cheryl.

“Not these,” she said. 

Cheryl noticed a drawing of a shooting star on top of the pile, and judging by the bright red hair in one of the people and the pink one next to her, she judged it was them. 

“This one too?” 

“Wait, let me see.” Toni said, stretching her arm towards Cheryl. The pink-haired girl frowned at the drawing, but her expression softened as soon as she recognized what it was. 

Raven nodded with a shrug. “Yeah, it already came true.”

Both Cheryl and Toni frowned at her response. 

“What do you mean?” Toni asked, looking at her.

“I made that when I was five, I guess?” Raven said, more like a question, before she continued. “When you took me to mom’s rock, you and Cheryl. At the park. We saw a shooting star and you told me to make a wish, and I did. I didn’t want to forget what it was so I drew it. But it came true, so you can throw that one away.”

Toni listened to the little girl’s words carefully, trying to regain full memory of that day. She remembered it, for sure, but in different blurs now. 

“It came true?” Cheryl asked one more time and Raven nodded, reaching for her brand-new phone to check the time. 

“Since it came true, you can tell us now what it was. Right, Cher?” Toni, ever so curious, hesitantly said as she looked at Cheryl for support and then at her sister. 

“Yeah, if you want to.” 

“I wished for us to always be a family. The three of us. For Cheryl to stay with us as a family because it makes me very happy.” She explained, a light blush on her cheeks as she looked at them with a shy smile. “But she’s still here and I’m already nine, so it came true.”

Cheryl never really knew comfort. Her counted days feeling loved at home were too far behind and the feeling was dusty enough for her not to remember exactly how it felt. 

That, right there. 

Those words. The feeling of being _wanted_ somewhere, being _loved_ regardless. 

A pale hand met her chest, clutching at invisible pearls at the feeling. She didn’t know how else to react other than smile and the urge of pulling Raven in for a hug. The tightest of them all. 

“Can _I_ keep it?” Cheryl asked, eyes locked on the girl watching her nod. “I love you, you know that, right?” 

Another nod. 

“I’m feeling very left out over here.” Toni complained, tilting her head forward as if to catch their attention. 

Raven chuckled and so did Cheryl. The redhead opened her arms, a welcoming gesture as she watched Toni crawling towards them. 

“And I love _you,_ ” Cheryl said as Toni placed herself in the redhead’s embrace, taking Toni’s bottom lip between hers, the pink-haired girl moving her head up enough. “More than anything.” 

“I love you, babe. She’s not the only one happy about our family.” She answered with a smile. 

Toni always looked at Cheryl as if she was staring at the most beautiful starry night, if Van Gogh’s paintings were no competition to her features. It always took Cheryl’s breath away. **_Home._ **

**DECEMBER 31st — THE DAY**

“I can’t believe I’m out on the street this late at night.”

The park was crowded with people dressed in white and silver, an unusual setting for a wednesday night at 11:50PM. Raven was amused with the amount of people surrounding her, Toni holding on tight to her hand as they walked between the crowd. 

Later that evening, when they decided they were going to the park to watch the fireworks when the clock hit midnight, Toni hadn’t actually considered that it would be _way too late_ for them, past Raven’s bedtime and not exactly the safest place to be, but Cheryl had insisted so much on going that Toni didn’t mind giving in for a day. 

“There’s so many people,” Raven whispered under her breath, eyes looking around at all angles and spots. Toni didn’t see fear in her gaze but curiosity, which made the pink-haired girl sigh in relief. 

“Indeed. That’s why you need to stay close to us at all times, okay? And don’t take your phone out of your pocket unless we say it’s safe to do so.” Toni explained calmly, the girl nodding next.

All three of them walked side by side, Cheryl holding Toni’s free hand, until they reached a well lit spot in the midst of the sea of people. 

Midnight. 

Cheryl’s stomach was churning inside her for the last fifteen minutes since they left the house. She had one hand stuck inside the pocket of her fur beige jacket, holding onto that tiny little box as if her life depended on it. To an extent, it did. She was holding her future in her hands—literally, in both of them—and there was no room for unforeseen events. 

She wanted it. She never doubted it for a second. She didn’t care if she was too young or if it was too rushed because it felt right. Asking Toni to spend the rest of their lives with her seemed to be the most logical, right thing to do. Cheryl knew that, for her, it felt right. 

What scared her the most was where Toni stood. 

Cheryl didn’t ask her about it, but she would drop hints here and there about their future. About how when Raven is older, she would like them all to go to Italy or to a warm place on Christmas. Toni would get constantly worried about Cheryl’s allergies in case Raven asked for a pet because she knew the redhead was deathly allergic to fur. They had even got into a fight with Raven because apparently the girl had decided _she_ wanted to wear red for her senior year graduation party and Cheryl would have to go suck it up and dress in black, even though that was her sister’s color. 

Toni never exactly put it into words saying Cheryl was in her future, but Cheryl _felt_ it, too. 

She saw it in the way Toni looked at her. In the tightness of her hand when they were alone in their bedroom, just sharing the same inch on the mattress, or when one of them would feel too overwhelmed and would cry themselves to sleep in each other’s arms. 

She saw it in the way Toni would always sit by her whenever they had an argument and Cheryl wouldn’t look her in the eye, as if she was saying _‘I’m here and I’m not going anywhere because I love you’_ and Cheryl knew she did. Toni showed love in the small, tiny details of their day-to-day lives. **_Their_ **lives. Together. 

They always talked about marriage. At first, they would joke about it. 

“When we get married I’m not letting you get away with the dishes,” Toni would say as she broke into laughter, her crop top usually soaked because Cheryl would always get a spoon and stuck it under the running water and make an absolute mess. 

“You’re making this recipe of yours on our wedding day, our honeymoon and you’re going to pass it to our grandchildren because it is _divine,_ babe,” Cheryl would say, with her mouth still full, as she chewed on Toni’s bolognese pasta. Every single time. Toni would laugh and say that she would definitely be happy to do it all with her. 

_With her._

Cheryl wanted to spend her eternity with Toni and no one else. Looking at her now, her face dimly lit by the lampposts, the pink strands that she refused to let go of, she couldn’t be more sure of her decision. 

Cheryl wasn’t sure if she had ever felt love so strongly like that before in her life, and even if she did, it still didn’t compare to the effect that Antoinette Topaz had on her. 

Fingers snapped in front of her eyes, making Cheryl realize she had zoned out while staring at Toni’s features, and if the soreness on her cheek bones was an indicator of anything, she had been smiling that whole time. 

“Earth to Cheryl,” she heard Toni’s soft voice as she snapped her fingers, her lips tugged up on the corner of her mouth into the prettiest smile Cheryl had ever seen. “What, did you see a ghost?” 

“Just thinking, babe,” she answered simply. 

She looked down at Raven, who was in the middle of them with her phone in hands, a coloring game on the screen. She tried to look at the time on the top of the screen. 11:58PM. Another stomach churn.

She had been so lost in Toni that she didn’t notice the place getting more and more crowded at the second.

“Thinking about what?”

Cheryl took a deep breath, moving the hand that was previously in her pocket to Toni’s face. 

“How grateful I am for you.” 

Toni’s neck muscles seemed to relax because her head fell lightly onto Cheryl’s hand, her cheek a perfect fit on the redhead’s palm. 

“Cher…” 

“I mean it. Well, I mean it every time but, _goddammit,_ how grateful I am for you.” Cheryl started, Toni’s eyes locked on hers as she spoke. 

_This is not how I planned. How was I supposed to start? This is not what I wrote down. I_ **_have_ ** _to remember. Cheryl, think! Quick, she’s looking at you, waiting for an answer._

_Fuck it._

“You came into my life when it was nothing but darkness, Toni. We’ve talked about this, about the lonely nights and the nights I would go to bed crying because I felt like I couldn’t do it.” 

Cheryl’s words quivered as she spoke, the memories and the bad, anguishly feelings attached to it. Toni had empathic sadness in her eyes, nodding gently at Cheryl’s words. 

“Until you.” Cheryl smiled this time and God, her heart fluttered seven times when Toni did the same. “I know I messed things up. I know I let you go once, but I wouldn’t change a thing because it is **_our_ **story, Toni.” 

_“30 seconds!”_ Someone yelled in a distance, far enough for Cheryl not to be able to see or _care._

“I’m going to take pictures of the fireworks to show Naya at school after break,” Cheryl heard Raven mumbling to herself as she stared at her phone. 

Another deep breath. Cheryl felt like if she opened her mouth a little more her heart would come right out of it and if she actually moved a leg she would pass out. 

“And I _love_ our story, Toni. I truly do. I love how we seemed to have an invisible string tying us together all this time.”

Toni seemed speechless. She didn’t move to try and say anything. It almost seemed like she was admiring Cheryl as she spoke, _digesting_ the words coming out of her mouth. Not because it was an unusual thing for Cheryl to do, because she made sure to show Toni how fucking much she loved her every time she could, but there was something about _that_ exact moment that left Toni speechless. 

_“10!”_

**10.**

“Cheryl…”

**9.**

“I love our story, babe, I truly do.”

**8.**

“And I wouldn’t change it or trade it for the world.”

**7.**

“But there’s nothing more I want in my life…”

**6.**

“Than build a future with you and that little girl.”

**5.**

Raven was playing with the camera, pointing it to the sky, until she noticed what was happening and, with the biggest smile Cheryl had ever seen, started filming them both. Cheryl couldn’t be more glad for giving that phone to her than she was at that moment.

At this point Cheryl thought Toni was aware of what was happening, but Toni’s jaw still dropped, her mouth in a perfect O shape, when she watched Cheryl getting down on one knee as she took the black box from her pocket and put the ring on display towards Toni.

“Baby, you have white jeans on, what are y—”

**4.**

“Antoinette Topaz…”

**3.**

“Will you make me the happiest, _happiest_ woman to ever live and marry me?”

**2.**

Tears. In both their eyes. Cheryl was almost sure she heard a gasp coming out of Toni’s mouth right before her hands clasped together and covered her own mouth. Cheryl could almost hear her heart beating inside her eardrums and

**1.**

“Yes,” Toni answered after nodding frantically. “A million little times, _yes_.” 

**Fireworks. Red. Green. Blue. White. Fireworks.**

“I love you. With all my heart.” Cheryl whispered, inches from Toni’s lips, as their foreheads came together before their lips connected. 

“I love you, Cheryl Blossom.” Toni answered, whispering against Cheryl’s smile on her lips. 

A smaller body collided against theirs, an arm wrapping around their waists. Raven was smiling when she looked up at them both, but Cheryl still couldn’t take her eyes off Toni. 

“Did you say yes?” Raven tried to say louder than the noise, and Toni nodded with a smile. 

“Of course I did.”

“See? I told you.” Raven looked at Cheryl now, making the redhead look down at her and smile. 

Raven’s grip on their waists tightened and Cheryl pulled them both closer, her lips meeting Toni’s one more time. 

Another grip to their waists. 

Toni felt Raven’s body stutter as she stomped her foot on the ground and she noticed _that_ stomp wasn’t because she was happy.

Fireworks broke behind them and she could barely hear what Cheryl was saying over all the noise.

Noise.

Toni leaned down and noticed how Raven was trying to cover her ears as she stood between them, the loud noises being too much for her. 

“Rav, come here,” Toni said as she let go of Cheryl and pulled her sister in, each hand on her ears. Smaller hands met hers, pressing harder on it. 

Cheryl’s first instinct was to also put her hands on top of Toni’s and Raven’s, which she did. She held them both closer to her body, Raven’s back pressing against her front, trying to hold her to give her some comfort. 

“It’s okay, let’s go home.” Toni knew Raven couldn’t exactly hear her, but as soon as they started to move, Raven followed their steps as they walked back to the car. 

In the car, Cheryl gave Raven the ear muffs she brought from home in case the noise became too much. While Raven was mesmerized at the fireworks, Cheryl couldn’t look away from her fianceé’s face.

* * *

**THE DAY**

None of them had gotten any sleep the night before. 

Cheryl was a light sleeper and could feel the mattress move as Toni rolled from one side to the other, desperately trying to get some sleep, until she decided to let it beat her. Cheryl pretended to be asleep a couple of times, when Cheryl turned to the side and placed a kiss on her bare shoulders, but she knew Toni knew her well to know that she wasn’t getting any rest either. 

“I know you’re awake, too, you know,” the redhead heard Toni whispering, her lips inches from her bare skin. 

Cheryl took a deep breath before she turned around to face her and answered, with a smile, “Busted.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, their eyes slowly making up their features as they got used to the lack of light inside the room. Toni could see Cheryl’s lips were slightly tugged in a smile, hers immediately copying the movement. 

“What are you thinking about, babe?” Toni asked, even though she knew the answer. She wanted to hear it, and Cheryl was aware of that when she rolled her eyes back. 

“Global warming,” she mocked. “About tomorrow. Time passed so fast, I can’t believe we’re getting _married_ tomorrow.” 

“Neither can I,” Toni confessed. “And the fact that we managed to organize it in six months is actually mind-blowing.”

“Thank God for Betty. She got most of the things done for us. She actually color-coded an entire binder.” 

“Are you that surprised?” Toni asked, her chest stuttering as she chuckled. “Because I’ve seen her desk.”

“Now that you point it out, yeah, I shouldn’t have seen it coming.”

Toni snuggled herself against Cheryl’s chest, her legs intertwining in a natural movement. Cheryl’s hand immediately met pink locks, feeling Toni’s chest rise up and down in a sigh. 

“I’m curious about the place,” Toni said. “I know the party is going to be at the agency’s party room, but the _actual_ wedding, when we’re supposed to say our vows and shit.” 

Since the beginning, Cheryl wanted to keep that a surprise. She knew where she wanted it to be and she was sure that Toni wouldn’t be opposed to the idea either. Disapproval wasn’t an issue for Cheryl, but she was aware that there was no other place she would rather have it at. 

“I know, but I promise you it’s a nice place.” Cheryl reassured, getting a nod in response. Toni knew that Cheryl wouldn’t disappoint, but curiosity was still killing her inside. 

“Do I at least _know_ it?”

“Very well.”

“It’s not Pop’s, is it?”

Cheryl chuckled and shook her head no. “As much as I would _love_ to because it’s literally where this all started, I don’t think Heather’s father would’ve allowed that.”

“Okay, good,” Toni answered. “Whenever I leave that place I smell like ice cream and syrup. Do not want that for our day.” 

“Hey!” Cheryl protested. “I used to leave smelling like vanilla ice cream and strawberry syrup every single day when I worked there and I have never had any complaints coming from you, missy.”

“I like it on you. Vanillas, strawberries and cherries really do suit you, you know?”

“You are _unbelievable,_ ” Cheryl answered, Toni chuckling lightly against her neck as the pink-haired girl pressed light kisses to it. 

“I know,” she bragged. “And you’re still marrying me tomorrow. If you want to call it off you still have time. I believe the buffet will start preparing at eight.” 

Cheryl stopped for a second, digesting the words coming out of Toni’s mouth. She knew she was kidding, but just the thought of not having her for the rest of her life was still one she didn’t like to think about. 

The redhead pressed a kiss on top of Toni’s head, a sigh coming from her lips seconds after. “Not even in a million years.” 

“Are you sure, though?”

Cheryl’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What?”

“Are you sure you still want to marry me?”

“Toni, where is that coming from?”

Cheryl felt hesitance in Toni’s body before she pulled away, enough to look at Cheryl as they both laid down. “I’m just asking. I know that there’s nothing I want more in this goddamn world than to have you forever, but I don’t know, maybe you could be second-guessing it.” 

“Toni, listen to me.” Cheryl asked, getting closer to her face now. She could see her face a little better, but not enough to read her eyes. “I never, not even once, second-guessed it. I knew it was right from the moment I asked you to be my wife. Hell, I knew it before Christmas and before Halloween. When all three of us were up in Mont Blanc, the two of you laughing your butts off because Raven had fallen face first on the snow… I knew, Toni.” 

“It’s funny to me because I never pictured anyone in my life,” Toni started, her tone softening as her words came out. “Never thought about getting married or even having a long-term partner. But when I think of my future, I see your face over and over again.”

“And damn, it’s a cute face, isn’t it?” Cheryl joked, getting lightly elbowed on the ribs. 

“You’re right, though. And I don’t care if people say we’re too young, mostly because we don’t know _that_ many people for them to be saying anything, but… It’s true, Cher. I just wished my mom was here to witness this.” 

Cheryl’s heart beat came along with an eerie clench and she hated there was only so much she could do to help her, if something at all. 

“And I’m sorry your mom won’t be there tomorrow,” Toni said after a few seconds of silence, her voice almost breaking at the end of the sentence. “I know you would’ve liked her to be there.”

“Yeah, fourteen-year-old me definitely would have.” Cheryl answered as she felt Toni snuggling back against her body. “Current day me? Not that much. I’ve got all the family I need already.”

With nothing much left to be said, Toni tightened her grip on Cheryl’s waist as Cheryl adjusted her body in a way they both were comfortable enough and, in the warmth of each other’s arms, they drifted off to have as much rest as they could gather.

* * *

Cheryl applied the last layer of eyeliner on her eyes and sighed in relief when she saw that both sides were equal. She could not have anything wrong or she would combust. For a second, Cheryl could not be more grateful for Betty and her idea of having them both getting ready at the agency. The vanities they had there were perfect, with its led lights all around the mirror.

“Alright, now for the dress,” Veronica said from the other side of the room holding Cheryl’s dress by the hanger. “I still can’t believe you’re really getting married in red.” 

“Raven’s idea,” Cheryl answered, applying the first and final layer of red lipstick on her lips. “She said I look too pale to dress in white.”

“I can’t believe I’m about to agree with a nine-year-old, but she’s got a point.” 

Veronica walked towards Cheryl as the redhead stood up, checking herself on the mirror one last time before she freed her hair from the bobby pins and watched them cascade down her back, covering it in a layer of red locks and two falling on each side of her face.

Cheryl looked at Veronica through the mirror and rolled her eyes, her arm stretched out as she reached for the dress. Soon Cheryl’s robe met the floor and she stepped inside the strapless dress on her body, looking in the mirror to make sure it fit perfectly as it did on her last fitting. 

“A little help, please?” Cheryl called Veronica’s attention, pointing to the long zipper going from her waist to the end of the top part of the dress. 

Veronica promptly helped, with Cheryl holding both parts together as she zipped it up. A few seconds later, they heard footsteps.

And then a knock.

Not enough time for them to say they couldn’t come in. 

“You look so beautiful!”

Cheryl saw, through the mirror once again, Raven standing at the door, her mouth hung open in a perfect O shape, as she stared at Cheryl in awe. The redhead felt her chest heavy for a second, but breathed out relieved when she didn’t see Toni there. 

“Thank you, Rav. So do you.” Cheryl turned around and answered with a smile. “I see that Betty did a great makeup job on you. I love the blue eyes. They match your dress, huh?” 

“Yeah, I liked it too,” she smiled shyly. “But you definitely look better than me. Let me take a picture.”

Before any of them could protest, Raven had her phone set up on the camera and close to her face, putting Cheryl in frame as she held a pose and smiled. 

“Perfect,” she said quietly. “I’m going to show it to Toni.”

“ **_No!_ ** _”_ Both Cheryl and Veronica said loudly in unison, but by that time Raven was already running out of the door. 

Luckily, Veronica went to the door and saw Betty meeting Raven in the middle of the hallway as she ran towards the room Toni was getting ready in. 

“Betty, do _not_ let that kid show Toni any pictures on that phone. Any. Pictures.” 

Veronica watched as Betty lowered her body and took Raven’s phone from her hand, placing it in her pocket and the defeat look on the girl’s face.

“Alright, I will be taking this for a while, darling.” Betty’s voice was muffled, but audible enough for Cheryl to understand some words and comprehend the entire sentence, Veronica sighing in relief at the door. “Tell Cheryl she’s ready. Jug is out front waiting for her and her car is outside, too. You can go in five minutes, just wait until we leave.” 

Veronica simply hummed in response and Cheryl felt her stomach churning seven times in a minute, so strongly she thought she would throw up. 

“I’m going to pass out,” Cheryl let out in breathy words, her breathing starting to catch in her throat. “I’m doing it, Vee.”

Veronica smiled and nodded. “You are, Blossom. You’re going out in five minutes and marrying Toni Topaz.” 

“I can’t believe I’m actually _getting married_ today. I’m actually marrying her, Vee.” Cheryl’s voice quivered and that familiar sting in her eyes was creeping back up.

“Please don’t cry, we don’t have time to fix your make up.” Veronica begged, gently pressing the fingertips of her index fingers under Cheryl’s eyes. “It’s all real, baby, but save it for the vows because she’s waiting for you.”

_“Vee, we’re out! Give us two minutes and please, hurry.”_

Betty’s words were definitely not helping Cheryl’s nerves, but she needed to girl the hell up and do it. She had waited for that moment for _months,_ and it was finally here. 

_She’s waiting for you._

“You look so beautiful in purple, you should wear it more often.” Cheryl let out after a few seconds of silence, staring straight into Veronica’s eyes. She saw a frown creeping up on her brows and held in a chuckle.

“And pearls are a great contrast with your eyes. And your eyebrows, how do you do them? So beautiful…”

“Are you trying to distract yourself and not think about Toni?” Veronica asked and Cheryl nodded in response. “Good, because if you were flirting with me minutes after your wedding we would have a problem.” 

“You wish, Lodge,” Cheryl gently elbowed her arm and got an eye roll in response.

“I do not confirm this statement,” she answered. “But I can confirm that Toni is a hell of a lucky woman, that’s for sure.”

Cheryl’s heart started beating faster than usual, again, and now her eyes were _definitely_ watery. 

“Oh, no, no tears, Cheryl. We don’t have time for tears,” Veronica said, pressing her fingers once again under her eyes to get the tears on her fingers so it wouldn’t smudge Cheryl’s makeup. “Actually, we don’t have time for anything. We better get going. 3:30 is just around the corner and you don’t want to leave Toni waiting, do you?”

_It was now or never. She had waited long enough._

Veronica insisted on doing an entire photoshoot as Cheryl walked out of the room. One could definitely see that the brunette was genuinely happy for her, eyes smiling just as her lips were. She got every angle and Cheryl thought to herself how proud Toni would be to see she had listened and used some of the tips she had previously taught her. 

“I’m definitely printing this one,” Veronica said to herself as she zoomed in the last picture she took, taking in the details and nodding. “Wait right there.”

Veronica looked out and immediately spotted the car that was supposed to take Cheryl there. No sign of Jughead’s car or Toni. 

“Okay, come,” she told Cheryl, who carefully looked around as well before she stepped out and walked towards the car. 

They both walked inside the car, careful enough not to wrinkle Cheryl’s dress, and in a few seconds they were driving away through the very known path. 

Cheryl’s phone buzzed in Veronica’s hand, the brunette giving Cheryl an eye roll as she handed the phone.

“You guys can't do an hour without each other, can you?”

Cheryl chuckled and shook her head gently as she took the phone. A smile grew on her lips the minute she read the notification on her locked screen. 

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _i have no idea where i am_

It was all part of the plan. Jughead would take Betty, Toni and Raven to the place through a different route because Cheryl knew Toni would recognize where they were going if he didn’t. Raven as well could point that it was familiar and they couldn't risk it. Cheryl would be there first because there was no way she would miss Toni’s reaction once she realized it.

Looking over at Veronica’s phone, which had rang mere seconds before, Cheryl caught her talking to Betty and giving the driver the instructions. 

_— good. you’re not supposed to._

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _i don’t even know this route. it feels like i don’t even live here and jughead is an imbecile who won't tell me_

_— baby do you trust me?_

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _entirely_

_— so take a deep breath and let Jughead do his job._

_— also don't call him an imbecile, he’s the one who got a license to marry us_

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _raven is curious too i think you should tell her_

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _now we parked and jug won't tell me why we parked and we’re supposed to be there at 3:30 and it’s already 3:21 i am going to freak out_

_— it’s part of the plan, babe. relax. i’ll see you in five. maybe ten._

_— I love you!_

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _you’re lucky I don't know how to track phones or i would definitely be tracking yours_

**_tt ❤️:_ ** _i love you more!_

Cheryl looked over the window the second after she locked her phone and handed it back to Veronica. The driver took a turn and the familiar trees started to appear, which made her stomach churn once again. All she had to do was stick to the plan and they would be fine. 

Twelve minutes later, Cheryl watched Toni appear at the end of the path, covered now in a giant red aisle runner. Even from a certain distance, Cheryl could see the glisten of unshed tears in Toni’s eyes, her hands covering her ajar mouth.

Toni knew Cheryl would be planning something special, she just didn’t know what. 

Having their wedding happen at _her_ spot at the park, the one that brought her comfort during so many days, really took her off guard. 

Even though the park wasn’t really active, people would still come and go. The area was isolated and perfectly decorated with the most beautiful lilac and purple flowers, some pink thrown on top of it as it went close to an improvised stand where Jughead waited for them. _Betty really outdid herself this time_ , Cheryl thought. Wooden benches were placed on each side of the runner, and all faces there seemed as joyful as both women felt.

They were walking themselves down the aisle. From day one of planning, they knew they didn’t want to be handed over by anyone but themselves to each other. 

That’s where they stood. Cheryl, on the right side, and Toni, on the left, staring at each other as if they had never seen such a beautiful person before. Toni’s eyes darted from Cheryl to the place as she took and let reality settle. Cheryl, on the other hand, was desperately trying to maintain a steady breathing because she didn’t think she would ever witness something so beautiful such as Toni dressed in a white wedding dress. 

Both of them took three steps each, enough for them to get close to each other. Toni could smell Cheryl’s perfume lingering in the air, a mixture of her own cinnamon and sugar smell with Cheryl’s strawberry and vanilla one. 

“Surprise,” Cheryl whispered, eyes still looking Toni from head to toe, taking in every feature of her face. _God, she looks gorgeous._

“I can’t believe you did this.” Toni answered, eyes locked in Cheryl’s, her voice breaking at the end. 

“I wanted you to feel your mom’s presence. I know here is where you come for that. Are you mad?”

“If anything, I think I’m more in love with you now.”

A familiar guitar beat echoed, which they knew was Raven’s cue to start walking down the aisle. Toni watched Betty giving Raven a basket full of white roses, and then in seconds the girl ran to where both women waited. The little girl looked at them and smiled before she reached for the flowers inside the basket and walked down on the red runner, throwing the petals all over the path. At the end, when she ran out of petals, Veronica waited for her with another basket.

When their song started playing, they looked at each other and reached for the other’s hand. Betty came with two flower bouquets in hands, handing Cheryl the white roses and Toni the red ones. The colors made them feel like they were almost holding a piece of each other and the silly thought made Toni chuckle to herself. 

With a last look, they took the first step onto the red runner and felt all eyes on them. As Toni walked down on it, she looked over her side and saw the many familiar faces — people from Cheryl’s agency, from her current job, some of Jughead’s relatives. Cheryl also noticed all the people from her agency, as well as some of her friends. It wasn’t much, but they knew they had people and from the smile on Cheryl’s face, she didn’t need any more than that. 

As they reached the end, Jughead welcomed them with the biggest smile and started, nervously, reading from the notebook Betty made him write some sentences down. They handed their bouquets to Veronica and turned back to look at Jughead, hands still intertwined together.

“We’re all aware of why we are all gathered here today and that we’re all about to witness two people lawfully take each other, so I’m going to skip this part.” He said, looking up and down from the notebook, towards them. 

Toni could hear Jughead saying some traditional things about weddings and being devoted to each other, but her mind couldn’t really comprise the words coherently because all she could think about was Cheryl. 

She really hadn’t had the time to digest how beautiful Cheryl looked, if the butterflies in her stomach and the fact that she couldn’t physically or mentally take her eyes off of the woman next to her were of any indication of that. She had woken up by Cheryl’s side, every single day, for more than two years now, for Toni there was no such beauty compared to Cheryl’s fresh, morning face, but seeing her stand there in a red dress, white flowers in hand and wearing the most beautiful smile she could to make it known that she was going to be _hers_ was taking Toni’s breath away. 

For Cheryl it wasn’t that different. She wanted to look like she had control over her own feelings and that she could maintain a serious posture when she wanted to, but Toni dressed in a white dress was making that incredibly difficult. The way her tanned skin contrasted with the color of the fabric was almost magnetizing. Cheryl could feel her staring. She tried not to look at her because if she did it would be too obvious that Jughead was probably talking to a wall, but it was so _damn hard._

“Now, I hope you two have written your vows because now it’s the time for you to do so.” He looked at both of them, watching them turn around to face each other. “Who would like to start?”

“Can I?” Cheryl whispered the question to Toni, who simply nodded. 

“If you make me cry and stain my dress…” 

Jughead had _clearly_ rolled his eyes when she heard Toni’s response. “Ladies, please. This is a holy event.” 

“Toni,” Cheryl started, her voice coming out soft. “I know I’ve said this all to you before, but the truth is I can’t measure how much I love you in mere words. There are simply not enough of them and I know you _feel_ it. I say it to you all the time, how grateful I am for you and life for bringing you back to me.”

The silence that had settled in the area was making Cheryl extra nervous for some reason, but all she really needed was to look into Toni’s eyes. The reassurance she needed was right there, right in front of her, in those dark brown, lovely eyes. 

“I met you during a dark time and you were the light at the end of the tunnel. I never thought, in a million years, that writing that little girl’s name down on a milkshake cup once would be the starting line to writing a future with you.” 

Cheryl had looked at Raven for a couple of seconds as she mentioned her, watching the little girl giggle and bounce her legs up and down on the bench, her legs too short to hit the floor. She thought she’d seen her blushing lightly, but she really didn’t have much time to process it as some _aw_ s could be heard from some of the people there. 

She looked back at Toni now and saw tenderness and love and comfort, all at once in those eyes. Her upper lip was trembling as she tried to hold in a smile, and Cheryl couldn’t help but to smile at that.

“When I proposed to you I told you how much I love our story and how I wouldn't change anything, but now thinking back I lied. I would. I would've chosen to have met you sooner. I would’ve chosen to be able to be by your side during your worst like you were there for me, but I’m so happy I get to do that now because I only see myself loving you and you only for the rest of my life.” 

“What about me?” A soft and childish voice echoed in the silence, Cheryl and Toni chuckling to themselves before they even got a chance to turn and look at Raven with crossed arms and a faux mad face.

“You too, boo.” Cheryl answered, watching the girl smiling widely again before she turned to look at Toni.

“Wow, okay, I was not expecting to get emotional over that,” Jughead said quietly, mostly to himself, but loud enough so the two women in front of him could hear and chuckle. “Uh, Toni?”

Cheryl watched Toni taking a deep breath, just staring at her for a couple of seconds before she gathered the courage and the words back in her head to start.

“Since the first moment I laid eyes on you I felt drawn to you somehow, and as time passed I felt whatever it was back then growing immensely. Maybe it was love, afterall.” She shrugged lightly as she stared into Cheryl’s eyes, watching the redhead’s looking at her, at every detail of her face. “Watching you with my sister was always a bliss, but just the sight of you was enough to give me butterflies all over. I didn’t know what it felt like to truly love someone or feel _safe_ until I met you. As you said it yourself, I know you feel it. I try to make my best at making you feel loved and safe the same way you make _me_ feel, and sometimes I suck at that, I recognize.”

Toni watched Cheryl shaking her head no gently, eyes still locked in hers as the pink-haired girl felt her cheeks burning. 

“You always tell me how strong I am and how proud you are of me, but I can’t start to describe how stronger you are and how prouder I am of you. You have gone through so much, Cher, _so much,_ and even then you never left me or my sister’s side. Hell, you were there for Rav when she broke her arm before I was.”

“Watch your language, Toni.” Jughead scolded fauxly.

“We’re not in a church, are we?” Toni playfully snapped back before she looked at Cheryl again. 

“Continue,” Jughead answered, gesturing with his hand. 

“You are the most important person in my life, along with that little one, and I promise you, Cher, I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest person on Earth because there is nothing more I want or like in this world other than seeing you being loved and happy. I’m not a writer or a poet, you know that, but I hope you know that I mean these words, Cheryl.” 

“I do,” Cheryl whispered back in response, her cheeks starting to hurt from smiling too much.

“Cheryl, I believe that’s not the right time to be saying that,” Jughead interrupted one more time and watched both of them chuckle, but still staring at each other. Sheer love. 

He cleared his throat before he continued. 

“On that note,” he said. “Cheryl Marjorie Blossom, do you take Antoinette Topaz to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“Hell yeah,” she answered, getting a wave of gentle laughter. 

“When it’s time to say ‘I do’, you don’t.” Jughead shook his head, waiting for the right answer.

“I do,” said the redhead this time.

“Go,” they heard Veronica saying to Raven, gently tapping on her shoulder before she stood up and brought the basket with the rings on it. 

Toni took Cheryl’s ring from the basket and slid it on her ring finger, placing a kiss on top of it right after. 

“Antoinette Topaz, do you take Cheryl Marjorie Blossom to be your lawfully wedded wife.” 

“A million little times, yes, I do.” 

After Cheryl did the same with Toni’s ring, Raven sat back down next to Veronica as Jughead proceeded with his reading.

“Well, by the power invested in me by the internet, I now pronounce you wife and wife and you may seal this matrimony with a kiss.”

_So dramatic, this man,_ Toni thought to herself before she looked in Cheryl’s eyes and pulled her in by the waist for a kiss. Cheerings could be heard in the background, but all Toni could hear was her own heartbeat, butterflies coming alive once again as she felt Cheryl’s hands meeting her waist to pull them closer.

When they parted, everybody was standing and clapping. Some had tears on their eyes. Toni caught a glimpse of Jughead’s mom and a tissue drying her eyes, and same with Betty, whose makeup was ruined by then. She felt the urge to look at the sky and smile at her mom, mostly because her subconscious wanted her to do it, but she knew she was there somehow. She could feel it. 

“Can I throw the rice now, auntie Veronica?” Toni heard Raven asking the brunette as they got ready to walk away again, and saw Veronica nodding in response. 

Rice was thrown all over them, by multiple people, and all they could do was walk the faster they could and try not to get too much in their hair.

“You’re mine now,” Toni heard Cheryl whispering once they got to the end of it, watching people walking to their cars to go to their next location. “Not in a possessive way, you’re not an object for God’s sake, but you’re mine.”

“I always was and always will be, Cher.” 

After one last kiss, they heard a voice calling them from afar. 

“You lovebirds, do you guys want to be late to your own party?”

“Why is Veronica always so impatient?” Cheryl asked as they started walking together towards the car. 

“Toni and I are riding together, Veronica. I don’t care!” Cheryl yelled loud enough for Veronica to hear her, and got an _obvious_ eye roll.

“You have forever to do that, can’t you guys go a day without being attached to the hip?”

Forever.

It sounded nice.

“Nah,” they both answered in unison and watched Veronica roll her eyes again and murmur in agreement, pointing to Jughead’s car.

* * *

When they walked inside the room, Toni had to gather up some strength and keep her mouth closed. 

The place was perfectly decorated. The tables were distributed all over the salon, white fabric gave the perfect vibe for them. Some details were in red and some in salmon, which was very pleasant to the eyes. The DJ was already playing and people were chatting loudly, trying to hear each other as they tried to talk over the loud music. Flowers everywhere, along with wooden Cs and Ts covered in silver ink hanging from the walls. Toni and Cheryl had planned the decoration themselves for most of it, but they still couldn’t believe Betty had thought of all the details. 

A photograph booth. A dance floor, with globes and colored LEDs. The cake with two miniatures of them, both in their exact dresses. 

“It looks so beautiful,” they heard Raven speaking louder than the music as they walked farther into the place. 

Toni looked down at her, one hand reaching for her hair. “It does, doesn’t it? Auntie Betty did a great job over here.” 

Toni watched the girl nod in response, looking around as she got used to the place. She had been there before once when Toni had a photoshoot in that location, but it had been a while. Toni wasn’t worried about that or about having to keep an eye on her sister. Even though she was big enough, Toni knew she could rely on Jughead, Veronica and Betty to help her keep track of the girl, who soon would be passed out from exhaustion. 

What concerned Toni, and Cheryl, the most was the noise. 

“Rav, are you okay? Is the music too loud? We can ask him to turn it down a little.” Cheryl noticed Toni’s anguish because she was feeling the same. 

Worrying over Raven wasn’t something that happened often, but in situations like this they could never be too cautious. 

Both of them sighed relieved when she shook her head no and smiled in reassurance. 

“No, I’m okay. It’s not too loud. I’ll let you know in case anything happens.” 

“We have to greet a lot of people, and talk a bit to all of them, so if something happens and you don’t find us, you can look for Jug, Betty or Veronica and let them know, okay?” Toni added, the girl listening carefully to each word and nodding. 

“Alright,” she smiled in response. Toni didn’t notice she had her phone in her hand until she held it up. “Can I take pictures?”

“Sure,” the pink-haired girl answered. 

“Okay, so you either have to pick me up or bend down because I’m too short.” She asked as she opened the camera and flipped the camera to face front. Her head was in frame but only the women’s torsos appeared. 

Toni reached down and picked the girl up, Cheryl helping support her weight getting closer and holding both Toni and Raven at the same time. Both the redhead and the pink-haired girl rested their heads against Raven’s, their wide smiles painting the picture. Raven pressed the button twice before Toni put her back on the floor. 

“Rav, you hungry?” Jughead approached them, touching gently on Raven’s shoulder as he spoke. She nodded in response before he looked at them. “Some people were asking for you two.”

“You’re gonna be okay with Jug? So we can talk to some people?” Toni asked one more time and she nodded. “Alright, it’s yours now.”

Toni lost track of time as they walked around, greeting people and taking plenty of pictures with every single guest. Cheryl knew Toni would be worried about the pictures, so the redhead made sure to let Betty know to get the best photographer available at the agency. Not that there were anyone better than her wife, but it was close enough.

Every now and then waiters and waitresses passed by serving beverages and food, which was the only time they had to snack on something. There weren’t that many people, but they all kept them on long enough for their heels to move from their feet to hang on their index finger as they walked between the tables. 

When the time came, Veronica had to stand on a chair and clink two glasses together after she asked the DJ to lower the music a little, enough for the guests to hear her voice loud and clear without a mic. 

“Hello, hi,” she said with a smile, looking around to see if the attention of most was on her. “I’m sorry to interrupt your lovely evening, but Betty, Jughead and I would like to say a few words, if we may?”

As she said the last part, Veronica looked for the familiar faces in the crowd, and once she spotted them and watched them both nod, she nodded back in response. 

“We’re going to be quick, I promise, but I just want to say some words.” She started. “I just want to say how happy and proud I am to be here today, witnessing these two fall in love over and over. Cheryl was _so_ oblivious, though. Toni walked inside that milkshake shop every day with the biggest heart eyes I had ever seen, and Gingerella over there had the audacity to ask me if she was seeing things.” 

“Hey! I didn’t want to jump into conclusion,” Cheryl protested, a light wave of laughter echoing. 

“Anyways,” Veronica cleared her throat, before she looked away once more. “I just wish all the best for both of you because I know what it took for both of you to be here today and you guys deserve to be happy in each other’s arms. Love you guys!”

Some people cheered, Betty and Jughead included. As Veronica gave space for Jughead to step in, he took Raven’s hand and brought her closer to him. 

“Well, I did have a speech prepared, but there’s someone who wants to say a few words.” He started, a few confused looking at his direction. 

Toni herself was confused for a second until she watched Raven stepping on a chair, high enough for people to see her. A light blush was visible on her cheeks as she looked back and forth to Jughead and Veronica for reassurance. 

“Oh, no,” Toni whispered to Cheryl, feeling the tears coming. When she looked up at the redhead’s face, she saw the same tender expression, the same watery edges in her eyes. “If she’s about to do what I think she’s about to do…” 

When they both nodded, Raven let go of the edges of her dress and started to talk.

“Well, I just want to say some things and then uncle Jug can go after me, if that’s okay. He even helped me with it.” 

She looked around, looking for Toni’s comforting eyes in the midst of all people. When she found them and watched her nod, even from a distance, Toni watched Raven take a deep breath before she continued with a smile.

“I met Cheryl when I was five because she makes the best milkshake in the entire universe. Toni took me there every day and she even taught me that flowers blossom, just like her last name. She was always with my sister and me and she even took care of me.” 

Cheryl looked away for a second, trying to disguise the tears forming in her eyes. She felt Toni’s arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer as they watched her bouncing on her feet. 

“Cheryl always tells me we are a family and my teacher taught me at school that family loves us and protects us no matter what. I’m so happy that Cheryl is going to be in my life and Toni’s life forever because I love our family just the way it is.” 

Toni didn’t even care about makeup at that point anymore. She dried her eyes several times and her hand already had dark stains all over it. Her eyes were probably a mess as well, which she was certain when Cheryl turned to her and wiped the stain from her cheek. 

“And what else did you want to say to them?” Jughead encouraged, whispering with a wide smile of his own. 

“That I love you, Cheryl cherry, forever and always! And you too, Toni macaroni! I didn’t forget!” 

Cheryl opened her arms, inviting the little girl into an embrace. Toni watched, nervously, Raven jumping off the chair and running towards them, her little body colliding in the middle of Cheryl’s and Toni’s. 

“I love you, so, so, _so much,_ you know that, right? And I’ll always love you, Raven Haven.” Cheryl whispered as she bent down to be on the same eye level as the girl. 

“I don’t think I can compete with that,” Jughead said sheepishly, watching the three of them stand together. “But if I may add…”

“If you’re going to dish on me, Jughead, I swear to God.” Toni hissed from afar, Jughead’s expression blank.

“As I was saying… Toni and I go way back. It took me two months to see her smile because she insists on putting up these goddamn walls, and it takes a lot for her to let someone in. I watched her get better after what happened with her mom, and I watched her fall in love with Cheryl. Twice.” 

He looked over at Toni now and saw her looking at Cheryl, the most passionate eyes he had ever seen. Raven did the same, her little hand reaching for Cheryl’s hand, that was resting on her shoulder as both women held her close. 

“You deserve the happiness that Red brings into your life more than anything, and I know you know that. Thank you, Cheryl, for taking care of her and loving her in the most beautiful way I’ve ever got to witness. To Cheryl and Toni!”

Jughead raised his glass, half filled with champagne and watched everybody else doing the same. A wave of ‘cheer’ echoed and, suddenly, the music was slowly playing again. 

Of course, a few minutes later, Toni, Cheryl and Raven held the knife as they cut their cake, cheers and claps filling the place. Toni, for a second, thought about scolding Raven for sticking her finger on the whipped cream on the bottom _before_ Toni got the chance to put it on a plate for her, but Cheryl’s hand on her arm before she could actually do it convinced her otherwise. 

When Raven’s favorite song started playing, which, conveniently, was also Betty’s, both of them disappeared in the middle of the crowd. Toni saw that as a cue to go to the bathroom and fix, at least, her hair, that she knew was a complete mess. 

Under the better lighting, she saw the edges of her dress were _black_ from walking barefoot and letting it hit the floor, but she didn’t care. She looked at herself in the mirror and, impressively, her makeup was still on her face and her hair wasn’t as messed up as she thought it would be and sighed in relief. _At least the pictures won’t look bad,_ she thought. 

Looking at herself in the mirror, she could truly see herself and let reality sink in. Maybe that was the utter happiness that people talk about in books, because she never thought she could feel something like that. 

The door opened behind her and she watched, through the mirror, Cheryl walking inside the bathroom as well, probably with the same thought Toni had had a few minutes ago. Indeed, the redhead fixed her hair as soon as she saw her reflection, wiping a smudge of mascara that had followed some tears along her eyes. 

“How are you feeling?” Toni asked, looking at her through the mirror. 

“Never been happier.” Cheryl answered, seconds before she caught Toni smiling at her and her arms wrapped around her waist. “You?”

“Never been happier,” she repeated, her hands coming to meet Cheryl’s on her stomach.

“I wasn’t expecting her to do that,” Cheryl confessed and watched Toni frown for a millisecond. 

“Her who and do what?”

“Raven. I wasn’t expecting her to stand up like she did and say those things. How can a nine-year-old make me feel so loved like that? It’s surreal.”

“To be honest, me neither. But everything she said is true, and I’m glad you feel it.” 

“I do,” Cheryl said in response, her cheeks blushing slightly.

“Three times in a day? You’re killing me, Blossom.” Toni mocked, feeling Cheryl’s body stutter behind her as she laughed. 

Cheryl watched as Toni adjusted her hair one more time, a wicked idea coming to her mind. 

“Toni…” 

“Hm?” 

Cheryl took Toni’s hand, catching her off guard, and pulled her inside the large stall, their dresses getting in the way for a second before the redhead locked the door on the inside. 

Cheryl watched a smirk grow on Toni’s lips before she took them between her own, her hand meeting her neck as she pulled her closer and deepened their kiss. 

“What are you doing?” Toni asked right after their lips parted with a smack. 

“You look _so good_ in white, babe,” Cheryl whispered in Toni’s ear, and smiled amused when she saw the hairs on her neck stand up. 

Toni couldn’t say she was caught by surprise when Cheryl grabbed the ends of her dress and threw it up, her hands sneakily getting underneath it, when the redhead did. At first Cheryl’s hand was only on her thigh, _too close_ to her groin, until she felt her fingertips strum gently the length of her center. 

“Cheryl,” she whispered, swallowing hard a breathy moan. “Not here. There are people out there.” 

“If we don’t take long they won’t even notice,” Cheryl said, pressing red lips against her pulse point. Toni had no other choice other than spread her legs a bit wider to give Cheryl easier access, and felt the redhead smirking against her skin. 

A few minutes into teasing Toni and getting her excessively warmed up, Cheryl pulled Toni’s panties aside and dipped the tip of her fingers on her entrance, feeling her wetness coat her fingers just enough. She took enough before she rubbed slow circles on her clit and felt Toni shudder under her touch. 

A loud bang startled both women, followed by an aggressive door opening. 

“Cheryl Blossom and Antoinette Topaz!” It was Veronica. Cheryl sighed in frustration and she made sure to let it out _loudly_ to let Veronica hear it. “Save some for your honeymoon, will you?! Jesus Christ, you’re the horniest people I know.” 

“What do you _want,_ Veronica?” Cheryl asked between teeth, moving her hand away from where it previously was. 

Toni adjusted herself under the dress and her hair, looking at Cheryl to see what she would do with her wet fingers. Toni almost let out a gasp when she watched the redhead put them in her mouth without hesitation, seconds after she unlocked the stall door behind them. 

“Are you planning on throwing those bouquets any time soon?” Veronica said as she watched them coming out, eyes landing on Toni for a few seconds. “ _You_ look flustered.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, sweetie,” Cheryl answered with a smug and a wink, and judging by Veronica’s expression, one could see she was _done_ with her. 

“Please, I don’t need any details. Just please make sure you’re on that stage in five?”

“Got it. Now, leave.” Cheryl gestured for her to leave as she opened the faucet, shoving her hand under the running water. 

“No respect, at all.” They both heard Veronica mumbling to herself as she left, leaving them alone inside the bathroom again. 

Toni bit her bottom lip trying to hold in a laugh, but it was too comical and too damn frustrating. Cheryl dried her hands on a piece of paper towel before she turned around to look at Toni one more time. 

“I hope it lands on Jughead and Betty. You know, we have two bouquets.” 

“I wish I could be down there to catch yours.” Cheryl answered in a heartbeat, Toni raising her eyes in surprise.

“Wow, we barely got married and you’re already thinking about divorce and getting married again.” She joked. “I’m hurt.” 

“I wanted to get the bouquet so I could marry you again.” Cheryl answered. “I would marry you three hundred million times if I could.” 

Toni was amused by the power of leaving her speechless that Cheryl had. She felt her heart beating stronger, almost too strong and loud that it was perfectly audible. 

“I love you.” Toni said, looking deep into Cheryl’s eyes. This time she didn’t feel the need to smile. She wanted Cheryl to truly understand the meaning that those three words held. 

“I love you.” Cheryl answered back. Toni felt it. “Forever.” 

Forever.

It sounded nice. It sounded right. 

_Forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, i guess this is where we leave. 
> 
> thank you all so much for reading it this far. especial thanks to andy, my bestest of friends, for pushiing me every single day to finish this one and fueling my craziest ideas. this one has been a ride, but i had immense fun on this journey.  
> feel free to let your feedback on the comments below, or if you'd rather, come talk to me on curiouscat! (curiouscat.me/clarmilla). 
> 
> thank you all and see you soon!♥

**Author's Note:**

> Well......... heheh hope you all enjoyed this one (especially you k i know you're reading this hehe i know how excited you were but do you hate me yet for that beginning? i hope not hehe) and i will try to post the next one as soon as possible! see you next time<3


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